Reflective Opposites
by AusisWinds-13
Summary: Terra ForceXIII Twin Sky 50 Drabbles challenge. Being twins with completely opposite personalities, it wouldn't be a lie to say that Sora and Vanitas have had their fair share of arguments. But despite that, they have certainly had some good times. Family AU!
1. Unique

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII. I recommend you check their profile if you're interested in taking up a challenge, there are some awesome ones on there!**

Okay, so I've decided to take up a challenge because lately I have been struggling with coming up with any ideas for the stories I am currently working on. I'm hoping that this challenge will get my creative juices flowing again!

_The challenge consists of 50 drabble themes about Sora & Vanitas as brothers._

I have read some amazing takes on this challenge and can only hope that my foolish attempt doesn't ruin it..haha.. Well, all I can say is; I hope you enjoy my take on this challenge!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

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><p><strong>~Unique~<strong>

"Say, Aerith?" Zack suddenly piped.

Aerith looked up from her sewing and stifled a laugh. Her husband stood in the doorway to the living room, Sora tucked under one arm and Vanitas the other, trying in vain to keep the two from squirming. Vanitas was clawing desperately at his father's shirt, shaking his black mane in an almost indignant fashion, small wails of protest leaving his lips. Sora, on the other hand, was reaching his hands up to play with his father's collar, his joyous giggles turning into squeals of excitement as Zack shifted the tot's weight slightly.

"What are you doing?" Aerith giggled, placing her sewing needle on the coffee table beside her before rising from her seat and walking over to her puzzled looking husband and the two twins he was carrying under his arms. She reached a hand forwards, affectionately ruffling Vanitas' hair, instantly calming the squirming tot. Zack sighed exasperatedly, meeting his wife's gaze. "I'm trying to understand something..."

"And by holding them like that, you're going to understand this 'something'?" The brunette laughed, taking Vanitas from Zack's arms and balancing him effortlessly on her waist. The raven haired man scratched his head with his now free hand, his nose crinkling with obvious concentration. "Well...maybe."

Aerith chuckled softly, turning away from her confused husband and settling herself back down on the couch. She placed Vanitas on her knees, bouncing him up and down in a motherly manner, cooing softly when his face screwed up into something that resembled a scornful frown.

"Vanitas here sure is an odd one." Zack suddenly chuckled as he plopped himself down onto the couch beside her, Sora still tucked lazily under his arm. Aerith nearly dropped Vanitas as she let out a gasp, turning to look across at her husband. Upon noticing her horrified stare, Zack quickly added, "N-not that that's a bad thing, of course."

His wife shook her head disapprovingly, lifting Vanitas up into her arms, holding him closely against her. "He's not odd at all." She retorted. "Our Vani doesn't act like the other kids his age, granted, but none of that matters. If everybody were the same, the world would be a boring place, for sure. Our Vanitas is unique and we should be proud of that." Aerith turned to face her husband again, raising an eyebrow at him, daring him to say otherwise.

"Unique is definitely a way to-" Zack was cut off as Sora squirmed free of his grasp and literally launched himself head first off the side of the couch. The raven haired man reacted instantly, diving forwards and scooping the brunette up into his arms before his body even had chance to hit the ground. He let out a sigh of relief upon finding the tot unharmed. Vanitas suddenly sat forwards and pointed at Sora, laughing at the embarrassed look on his face. "Idiot!"

Aerith glanced across at her husband bewilderedly. "Did he just...?"

"Yeah... I think so..." Zack began, scratching the back of his head perplexedly. "Okay, you win. So maybe unique _is_ the best way to describe him."

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><p><em>Word count; 517<em>

_Date added; Monday 7th November 2011_

I love this already! Writing Vanitas and Sora as babies is such fun! XD

I need to get a handle on Zack and Aerith, though, they're not as easy to write as parents, I must say. I can somehow imagine Zack dropping Sora/Vanitas at some point, whilst Aerith would just be the perfect mother. Well, we'll just have to see how this pans out!

My next theme is going to be; **'Wrong'**

I'll get it put up as soon as I've finished editing it! I hope you all liked this. :) I hope to update this quite frequently, as these drabbles are going to be a lot shorter compared to what I usually write. Fingers crossed!

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	2. Wrong

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Considering I had an exam today, I think I've done a good job with getting this up! **Yay!**

This consists of a _ten year old Sora & Vanitas!_ I've tried to show that Vanitas is more intelligent than most children his age. There's no real reason for that, I'll admit, but I just can't imagine him not ever being this stoic, overly intelligent kid.

Besides, that's just how these drabbles are going to progress. I'll be showing how they grow as characters and also I think I can really express just how much Vanitas needs and relies on Sora, vice versa, if I do it this way. Yes, for the first time ever, I actually have a plan and an idea as to where something's going! :D

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

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><p><strong>~Wrong~<strong>

Vanitas continued to glare down at the family photo clutched in his curled fists, his golden eyes scrutinising the four people posing happily in the photograph. His nose wrinkled with distaste. He hated it. Something was wrong with it and it was bugging the ten year old to no end. No matter how hard he stared, no matter how long he searched, he still couldn't seem to figure it out.

Vanitas turned his attention back to the people in the photo, deciding to vent his frustration by finding out once and for all what was ruining what should have been a perfect family photo.

His mother, Aerith, had her usual kind smile gracing her features, her head tilted slightly to the left, her emerald eyes shining with obvious joy. His father, Zack, stood beside her, his arm wrapped warmly around her shoulders, a mischievous grin plastered across his lips, his ocean-blue eyes glinting with mirth as he reached down with his free hand to ruffle the hair of a small brunette who was clinging tightly to his pant leg.

The dark haired boy's eyes shifted to the brunette his father was teasing, his chest tightening as he scanned a face so similar to his own. The only visible difference between the two of them was that Sora had inherited his father's deep blue eyes and his mother's chocolatey brown hair, which seemed to stick up all over the place, no matter what he tried to do with it.

Begrudgingly, the ten year old forced himself to gaze upon his own image, grimacing as he took in his own appearance.

He hated the way his unruly black hair stood up on all ends, more so than Sora's, the way his lips were set in a stony scowl, the way his arms were folded angrily across his chest as if he were an obnoxious four year old. But most of all, he hated his golden eyes.

And that's what was wrong, he decided finally. He was what ruined this photo. Compared to the three other joyous figures in the photo, he was an outcast, an oddity. He was wrong.

"Whatcha doing?" A voice dangerously close to his ear suddenly piped, pulling him free of his self-loathing reverie. Vanitas jerked away from the voice as the photograph was snatched from his hands. "Oh! Looking at the family photo again? You're always looking at this." The somewhat annoying voice continued.

The raven haired boy growled warningly and yanked the photo back into his grasp, "Leave me alone, Sora."

The brunette suddenly appeared in from of him, his face hovering in close proximity to his. His ocean-blue eyes were narrowed with obvious suspicion as he leant in even further to his twin, scrutinising him in the same way Vanitas had been staring at the picture not moments ago. He reached a hand up and shoved his brother away, holding back a half amused chuckle as his younger twin stumbled back and collapsed in a heap a few feet away. As soon as Sora sat up again, Vanitas pulled his knees to his chest and scowled at the wall opposite, hoping that it would warn the brunette away... Or not...

"Aww c'mon Vanitas! What's wrong?" Sora pouted, choosing to sit cross-legged in front of his twin. "You can tell your brother anything."

After a long silent staring contest and battling against what his heart wanted and what his pride shouted, Vanitas finally gave in, lowering his eyes to his curled fists, whispering, "What do you think of me, Sora? Am I...wrong?" He glanced up to meet his brother's confused yet curious gaze before instantly looking elsewhere.

There was a long pause before Sora replied, "I don't think you're wrong..." The bubbly brunette shuffled closer to his twin, his eyes gleaming with the sickening kind of love. "You're not wrong, Vanitas. Wanna know why? You're my brother. There's no way you can be wrong! That would make me wrong, right?"

At this, the raven haired boy almost cracked a smile, shaking his head at his oblivious brother. Sometimes he had to stop and wonder if the two of them really were the same age. Sora could be so dumb yet at the same time he seemed to know exactly what to say. Vanitas glanced up, scraping back the small slithers of what remained of his infamous stoic stature. "Hmph. I guess you're right."

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><p><em>Word count; 736<br>Date added; Wednesday 9th November 2011_

I hope you all enjoyed it! Hopefully my next drabble will be updated within the next few days!

My next theme is going to be; **'Puppy'**

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	3. Puppy

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

In this drabble, Vanitas & Sora are teenagers, maybe 14/15? Depending on how you see it! Sora has picked up a stray puppy and is trying to convince Vanitas to help convince his mom to keep it. Well, let's see what happens, shall we?

Oh by the way! Reviews are like milk and cookies to me, just saying!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

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><p><strong>~Puppy~<strong>

"You can't be serious." Vanitas muttered, running a hand across his face as if to scrape away the scowl permanently settled across his features.

"I'm as serious as it gets!" Sora exclaimed indignantly, stomping his foot out of frustration.

"Sora, do you even have the word 'serious' in your vocabulary? Because if you did, I'm pretty sure you'd realise that this is just ridiculous." Vanitas deadpanned, removing his hand from his face long enough to raise a sarcastic eyebrow at his twin. In response, Sora scoffed, folding his arms over his chest, his lips falling into a pout. The raven haired boy bit back a groan and cast his liquid golden gaze upon the small ball of fur Sora was clutching in his tanned arms. "Whatever. You know mom won't let you keep it."

"Yes she will! She's got to!" Sora wailed, tightening his hold on the puppy struggling in his arms. "I can't leave him out there! He has no owner, no home, no food…" The brunette trailed off, his lower lip wobbling as he thought of what might happen to the puppy if he wasn't allowed to keep it. "Vanitas!" Sora cried, practically shoving the pup into his twin's face, much to his disgust. "Look at him! Look! Isn't he the cutest? You've got to help me convince mom too keep him!"

"No." Vanitas replied stonily, leaning away from the ball of fur which seemed to be inching closer to his face by the second. "Who's gonna look after it, huh?" He added, giving his twin a pointed look. The raven haired boy almost let slip a small smirk of victory. He knew his twin well. He could barely take care of himself, let alone a puppy which required attention for almost twenty four hours of the day for the first few months. He shuddered involuntarily. He disliked dogs.

Sora opened and closed his mouth, flabbergasted for a moment before clamping his lips shut and fixing his brother with an almost angry glare. "You just don't want me to keep it! You hate dogs and always have!"

Vanitas snorted and pushed himself off the doorframe. "Correct. And I'm not ashamed to admit it." He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, smirking knowingly. And sure enough, Sora followed him out into the hallway, scurrying alongside him. Let the grovelling commence.

"It'll do you good, Vanitas, honestly! Dogs are lovely, you'll see. You get to take them for walks, play with them, stroke them…they'll become your best friend! Please!" Sora wailed, skipping ahead of his brother and holding the puppy up in front of his face, tilting his head to the side and offering him the biggest pout he could muster. The raven haired boy almost scoffed. He was immune to Sora's cute and innocent act and was quick to brush it off with a glare. "No. I've already told you. Take it back to where you found it before mom gets-"

Vanitas was cut off as Aerith's voice floated down the hallway, announcing her arrival, "Hey boys, I'm back!"

Vanitas' golden orbs flickered back to his brother, narrowing his eyes when he caught sight of his coy smile. "What are you planning?" He hissed, rounding on his brother and grabbing a hold of his shoulders. Sora, however, seemed unaffected by his brother's temper; instead he seemed rather interested with the puppy nestled in his arms. The golden eyes boy groaned and shoved his brother against the nearest wall before stalking back into the living room and collapsing on the nearest couch. This was not going to end well for him.

**~Two Hours Later~**

"Well…" Sora drawled as he skipped into the living room, puppy in tow. "I think that went brilliantly, don't you? All that talk that 'mom wouldn't let me keep him' and that I should 'get rid of him before she got home'. You should be ashamed of yourself!" He reprimanded in a voice that was too cheerful to be considered scolding. In response, Vanitas buried his face into the nearest pillow, muttering several, incoherent curses to himself. He hated it when his twin got cocky. That was his job, and his alone.

"So!" Sora chirped, leaping onto the couch, narrowly missing Vanitas' sprawled legs before calling the puppy up onto his lap. "I think you should say hi to the newest member of our family! Barnaby!"

The raven haired teen felt a small, yet irritating weight just below his shoulder blades and emitted a guttural growl before shooting up from his position on the couch, causing the puppy to slip back into Sora's lap.

He fixed his brother with a glare of pure fury before hissing under his breath, "I'm getting a cat and I'll train it in such a way that if your dog comes anywhere near me again, it'll scratch its face off." With that, he stormed from the room, before stomping up the stairs to get away from the madness that was his brother.

Sora glanced down at the confused looking pup sat beside him. "Oh, I know, I know. He acts like that all the time, believe me." He paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I do hope he wasn't serious about getting a cat though…"

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 874<em>  
><em>Date added; Friday11th November 2011<em>

I enjoyed this one so much, it has to be said! Sora makes me giggle- he's so oblivious at times! Vanitas also gave me great pleasure in this particular drabble. I've always enjoyed writing his character, and this time is no exception.

Anyways, my next theme I hear you ask? **'Midnight Snack' **

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	4. Midnight Snack

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora and Vanitas are around 15 in this drabble, for those of you who are wondering! In this particular scene, Sora is suffering from 'insomnia', and during this time, uncovers one of his brother's many secrets. He enjoys having midnight snacks!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

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><p><strong>~Midnight Snack~<strong>

For some reason, Sora was finding it extremely difficult to fall asleep. He kept tossing and turning, flipping his pillow, pushing back the covers, pulling them back up, curling up into a ball and even lying ramrod straight, but nothing seemed to work. The more minutes which passed by, the more agitated he became. It was as if he had developed a severe case of insomnia overnight.

For the seventh time that night, he glanced across at the clock and let out a groan into his pillow. Three minutes to midnight.

The brunette's gaze fell on his brother who was sound asleep in the bed on the other side of the room. Sora frowned. As soon as Vanitas' head hit the pillow, he was instantly asleep, or so it seemed. That was probably the biggest thing Sora envied about his twin. What he wouldn't give to be able to fall asleep within seconds of lying down. Sometimes life was just so unfair.

Sora continued to stare across at his brother's sleeping face, his arms folded across his chest, his lips set in a pout. His mind suddenly began making up several random theories as to how Vanitas was able to fall asleep as quickly as he did, his first theory being that his twin had some sort of super power which allowed him complete control over his body, meaning he was able to fall asleep whenever he felt like it or beat his brother at any sport they happened to be playing. It would certainly explain a lot, that much was for sure.

The brunette let out a huff of annoyance and rolled onto his back, choosing to take his frustration out on the ceiling instead. His eyelids began to feel heavier the longer he glared, which he took for a good sign. Slowly, his eyes finally fluttered shut as the promise of sleep finally danced into his grasp. Well, until the sound of creaking floorboards somewhere to his left snapped him awake again.

Sora's cobalt eyes flickered in the direction of the sound before widening when he noticed Vanitas' shadowy form slowly sit up, his hands interlinking as he raised arms above his head. His twin then proceeded to flick back the covers and swing his legs over the side of his bed, before pulling himself to his feet, his hands lost in his black hair which seemed to be a lot messier than usual. Where was he going, and at this time of night, no less?

Unable to hold back the overwhelming sense of curiosity, the brunette sat up and kicked off the sheets which were currently tangled around his legs, watching inquisitively as his brother snuck noiselessly from the room. He could barely hear the soft shuffling of socked feet against carpet from somewhere in the hallway, before silence reclaimed the air around him.

For a moment Sora pondered over where or not he should follow his twin, until he glanced across at the sleeping Barnaby nestled in his favourite jumper, instantly reminding him of the reason as to why he was awake. With renewed determination and the sudden realisation that he was rather hungry, Sora crept out after his brother, peering over the railing just in time to see a mass of dark spikes disappear through the door which led to the kitchen. At the thought of food, Sora's belly seemed to growl even louder than before. Ignoring its protests, he made his way over to the staircase, wondering how his brother had managed to descend without making a noise on the creaky floorboards.

The brunette tried to achieve the same feat, without much luck. Each time his foot so much as touched a step; it would groan under his weight, giving him even more reasons to believe that his twin somehow possessed a super power, which apparently allowed him to fly as well. Sora took in a deep breath before sprinting down the steps as fast as he could manage, gritting his teeth the entire time. It was truly a miracle that Zack and Aerith could sleep through the amount of noise he had just provided. He then proceeded to bounce joyously into the kitchen, noticing his brother's regal form sat atop the kitchen counter, a popsicle wedged between his teeth, with one knee pulled up to his chest. "You know," Vanitas began offhandedly, not even glancing in his direction, "You should try being a little louder. I somehow don't think the neighbours are awake just yet."

Sora childishly stuck his tongue out at his twin, only to have Vanitas hurl a wrapped popsicle the back of his head. "Ow! I wasn't even that loud!" The brunette protested sulkily, rubbing the back of his head with one hand, reaching down and plucking the treat from the ground with the other. He then skipped over to the counter and eased himself up onto it beside the raven haired teen before unwrapping the ice cream and stuffing it into his mouth.

"You're such an idiot. And Zack wonders why you don't have a girlfriend." Vanitas snorted, pulling his ice cream from his mouth long enough to smirk at his brother's antics.

"Nuh 'ike ou 'ave one." The brunette scoffed, his lips struggling to move around the ice cream taking up most of the room in his mouth.

The raven haired teenager said nothing in response; instead he chose to remain silent, studying his brother with his haunting golden eyes whilst continuing to chew on the ice cream latched between his lips. "Stop staring! Sora wailed. "It's creepy!"

"Not as creepy as watching you slobber all over your ice cream." Vanitas pointed out, casually waving his now finished ice cream stick in his brother's face. "Chew with your mouth shut." He commanded, flicking his brother's nose. Sora snickered, but otherwise obeyed, his lips curving into a smile. Times like these between he and his brother were rare which was probably why he cherished them so much.

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><p><em>Word count; 998<em>  
><em>Date added; 1311/11_

That was fun to write to be fair! I somehow see Vanitas…never sleeping, ever.

My next theme; **'Xion'**

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	5. Xion

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora, Vanitas, Xion & Kairi are all 15/16 in this drabble! So we finally have some characters other than the boys and their parents! Okay, they'll pop up a little more in the future, but not heaps, as this is meant to be about Sora & Vanitas after all...

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

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><p><strong>~Xion~<strong>

"Hey, Vanitas! Kairi's cousin should be arriving soon! Get over here!" Sora called, waving madly at his irritable twin who was slouched against one of the stone arches of the train station a good few meters away, his head bobbing along to the music being pumped into his ears through a pair of bright red earphones. Sora's earphones to be precise.

The brunette normally would have kicked up a fuss at his brother nicking his possessions, but he simply didn't have the energy to cause an argument this early in the day. When the raven haired teen didn't respond, he rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone to recheck the time for the third time in the past five minutes. The fluorescent numbers '07:05' blinked back at him mockingly, serving as a painful reminder that he was losing out on precious hours of sleep. But, boy, was it worth it.

He glanced across at the redhead standing beside him, a blush creeping across his cheeks as she merely shrugged and sighed, completely oblivious to what he had just been thinking. His thoughts hastily went back to Vanitas. They both knew why his brother wasn't involving himself in this particular event. It wasn't that he hated Sora's friends, oh no, he just hated people in general. More so if this said person was new. He despised newcomers with a passion.

Vanitas slowly looked up, as if sensing somebody was looking in his general direction, his golden eyes flickering up to meet Sora's gaze. He plucked one of the ear buds from his ear and fixed his twin with a glare which looked more like a grimace than anything else. "Why don't you take a picture? I've heard they last longer." A smirk quickly replaced the grimace, his sarcastic attitude returning in a heartbeat.

Kairi pointedly ignored him, her violet-blue eyes scanning the faces of the many people disembarking the train which had just pulled into the station, while Sora let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head, "Just get over here, would you? At least make it look like you're here to welcome Xion, and not an antisocial teenage delinquent."

The raven haired teen merely squinted blankly at his twin, not even budging from his position by the arch, his nose wrinkling with distaste. His hand still hovered by his right ear, holding the ear bud between two fingers as he continued to stare vacantly at Sora, wondering whether or not he should actually listen to the brunette for a change… But then he had just called him an antisocial teenage delinquent.

Before Vanitas had time to reply to his brother's not so friendly request, a loud squeal left Kairi's lips and the redhead launched herself into the horde of people accumulating in the already crowded station, weaving this way and that before disappearing from sight entirely. Both Sora and Vanitas glanced at each other, unsure of what had just happened, before turning their gazes back to where Kairi had been standing not moments ago.

It didn't take long for the redhead to re-emerge from the mass of bustling people, with a short dark haired girl following close behind, her head bowed, most probably to try and hide the red tinge of embarrassment which was creeping across her cheeks.

Vanitas took a few precious seconds to observe the petite girl as she sidestepped Kairi to stand beside her, smiling shyly up at Sora as he rushed forwards and embraced her warmly. He cocked his head to the side, unsure whether to sneer or frown as he reinserted the loose headphone back into his ear. Within Temptation poured itself into his eardrums as he continued to stare at the scene unravelling before him. His brother had always been too forward when it came to strangers. It was as if he trusted them entirely the moment he met them. He, however, was completely and utterly different. It would take more than a smile or a laugh to earn his trust. Heck, he didn't trust Sora and they were brothers!

The raven haired teenager's golden eyes narrowed as he watched Xion untangle herself from Sora's spindly arms. She was…interesting to watch. She had so many things about her that caught his attention. Her nose crinkled slightly when she smiled. Her ocean coloured eyes sparkled when she laughed. She chewed her lip when she was nervous or unsure. She clasped her hands in front of her when introducing herself. He suddenly froze. And…she was looking right at him with a rather odd and somewhat curious expression on her face.

That's when he realised just how long he'd been staring. He sharply looked away, thankful that neither Sora nor Kairi seemed to have noticed his sudden blunder. He was never the type to stare like that or take notice of somebody new. He normally ignored them for all he was worth. But Xion… She seemed different. Vanitas risked a quick glance in her direction, only to notice that she was engaged in a hearty conversation with his brother and Kairi.

He mentally cursed himself for acting so stupid. He was Vanitas, a cold hearted, straight faced unbreakable force with walls that nobody could tear down. Well, except his brother, on exceptionally good days. Days which were rather rare.

Vanitas glanced once more in the trio's direction, accidently catching Xion's eye once again, who blushed and quickly broke the contact, chewing her lip nervously. He resisted the urge to smirk. So Kairi's sweet and innocent looking cousin was interested, huh? Very interesting indeed...

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 928<em>  
><em>Date added; 1611/11_

Okay, I admit, it's not my best. I know for a fact that I can do so much better! I also need to stop delving into Vanitas' character so much. Poor Sora's not getting very much attention at all!

But hey, I'll get to him eventually, I promise!

TheAnnoyingVoice actually gave me the idea for my next theme; **'Incompetent'**

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	6. Incompetent

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

This theme was quite hard to try and stick to, but I think I managed quite well in the end! Vanitas sometimes just has no time for his brother...this is one of those times. XD

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Incompetent~<strong>

Vanitas glanced up from his position on the couch as Sora suddenly bounced into the living room, his infuriating puppy in tow. Fantastic. So much for having an hours nap, undisturbed. Slowly, the raven haired teenager sat up and fixed his twin with a glare as he leapt back onto the couch opposite, calling his mutt up into his awaiting arms. When Sora finally met his gaze, a completely oblivious grin crossed his features. "Hi, Vanitas. What were you doing before I came in? You haven't even got the TV on. Aren't you a bit bored just sitting there staring into space?" The brunette reached for the TV remote resting on the coffee table beside him, flicking on the TV and turning up the volume loud enough to grate on Vanitas' already paper-thin nerves.

Grimacing distastefully, the raven haired teen raised a mocking eyebrow before muttering a sarcastic reply, his voice taking on a dangerously flat tone, "Oh, yes, terribly so. Thank you Sora, for saving me from the clutches of complete and utter boredom. You're my saviour."

Despite the heavy sarcasm, the brunette seemed completely unaware of the mocking he had just been subjected to, grinning toothily instead. "Aw, don't worry about it Van! That's what brothers are for."

Vanitas stared incredulously at his twin for what felt like a lifetime before letting out a loud groan, collapsing back on the couch, closing his eyes and rubbing a hand across his throbbing temples. Any normal person would take the hint and scarper before Vanitas tore them limb from limb, but Sora was Sora. Even if he did know of the intensely murderous thoughts flitting through his mind at this moment in time, he still wouldn't budge for anybody. Times like these, he found it really hard not to want to throttle the life out of his twin.

He was seriously considering leaping up from the couch and hurling his brother from the room, when the brunette suddenly burst out laughing. Vanitas cracked open one of his golden eyes and stared across at his brother's convulsing form, a disgusted sneer reaching his lips as he noticed that damn mutt which seemed to follow the brunette everywhere licking and pawing at his twin's face. How revolting…

Vanitas sat up again, flicking his legs over the side of the couch and resting his feet on the floor as he continued to stare at his brother as he giggled and snorted the more the puppy tried to lick at his face. "You do know how unhygienic and utterly repulsive that is, right?" The raven haired teen quipped, leaning his elbows against his knees as Sora finally lifted the puppy up and held it at arm's length, beaming joyously at the yapping mutt.

The brunette pouted and stuck his tongue out at his twin before pointing out, "If it's so repulsive why don't you leave and go somewhere else instead?" A small giggle passed his lips as Barnaby began licking at his wrists instead, instantly melting away his dampened mood.

The raven haired teenager snorted and ran a hand through his unruly hair, tugging at the tips of his spikes. If his brother didn't get the hint soon, he was going to purposely chuck something heavy and extremely valuable at his head. "For a start, I was here first. So if anyone's going to leave," He paused for effect, fixing his twin with one his infamous death glares, "It'll be you."

Sora's lips turned down into a frown as he eased Barnaby onto the ground, ignoring it as it began to weave in and out of his legs excitedly. "Well I'm here now and I'm not planning on going anywhere." He glanced down at the pup clawing at his socked feet. "Ain't that right, Barnaby?" The small puppy paused and looked up, before barking in response. Sora them met his brother's gaze and grinned triumphantly. "See?"

"And you think I'm going to listen to an incompetent idiot and his mutt?" Vanitas snapped, his glare intensifying. He continued to glare at his brother for a moment longer before scowling and rising to his feet. "Whatever. I might actually get some peace and quiet in my room." He shook his head out of frustration and headed over to the door to the living room, grimacing to himself. He hated it when his brother got the drop on him, but his desperate need of a nap was greater than that of his need to pummel his brother into the ground.

"Aw, c'mon _Vani_. Don't be a spoil sport." The brunette's voice called teasingly.

Vanitas promptly froze in the doorway, his hands slowly clenching into tight fists. He half turned, smiling cruelly in his attempt to keep the twitch in his right eye under control. "Care to _repeat _that, Sora?"

Sora chuckled and placed his hands behind his head, grinning up at his brother as he leant back into the couch comfortably. "You heard me."

The raven haired teen continued to stand in the doorway, weighing up his options. He peered around the side of the door, noticing his mother's form just disappear into the kitchen. He took a step back and closed the living room door, before rounding on his twin, smirking slyly.

~x~

Aerith was bent over a recipe book, deciding what to cook for dinner that night, when a high pitched scream suddenly erupted into the air.

She straightened hurriedly and rushed into the living room, only to find Zack already had everything under control. He had wedged himself between the two twins, who were clawing and scrabbling at their father's arm, trying to get to the other. "You'd think being a parent would get easier as they get older," Zack sighed, glancing up to meet his wife's gaze, whilst struggling to continue to contain the two teenagers.

"But these two are just… impossible." Aerith reasoned.

The raven haired man shook his head and grinned. "Incompetent was the word that came to mind, actually."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 999<em>  
><em>Date added; 2011/11_

My next theme; **'Competitive'**

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	7. Competitive

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

This was originally going to be my drabble for '**Incompetent**', but it wasn't working out, so I changed the theme to this instead! It was actually quite fun to write, and shows off Vanitas' soft side, kind of..ish.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Competitive~<strong>

"You're such an idiot." Vanitas spat, glaring at his brother as he sat atop the kitchen counter, nursing his injured knee with one hand whilst trying to apply a rather healthy amount of salve with the other. The brunette glanced up and pouted at the sight of his scowling twin standing in the doorway. "Thanks for the sympathy."

Vanitas' scowl deepened as he stepped further into the kitchen, folding his arms over his chest in an almost disapproving manner. "You're the one who fell over. Don't expect any sympathy from me."

Sora stared at his twin for a split second longer, before lowering his gaze and murmuring, "It wasn't entirely my fault." The raven haired teenager instantly scoffed, clearly not believing his brother's claim. The brunette rolled his eyes inwardly and turned his attention back to his bloodied knee, his lips turning into a grimace as his fingernails caught on the torn skin.

"Oh bloody well let me do it, will you?" Vanitas muttered gruffly, crossing the room to stand in front of the pained brunette, forcing the salve from his twin's hands and squeezing a pea sized amount onto his finger. "You carry on the way you're going and you'll only end up making more of a mess." The raven haired teen grabbed a hold of Sora's leg and straightened it, causing the brunette to let out a yelp of pain. "Quit being such a baby." Vanitas hissed, narrowing his golden eyes at his twin before brushing his salve-covered fingers across his brothers injured knee, coating the wound in the antiseptic.

Sora bit down on his tongue, trying to hold back the whimpers which made their way up his throat, his eyes stinging with tears as his brother none-too-gently rubbed the salve into the scrape on his kneecap. As soon as Vanitas released his leg, Sora jerked it up to his chest, eyeing the thin helping of salve the golden eyes boy had applied. "Are you sure that's enough." The brunette piped, prodding at the flesh around the edge of the still-bleeding wound.

Vanitas snorted, his lips turning up at the corners into an almost amused smirk as he watched his brother continue to poke at his pathetic excuse of an injury. "It's more than enough. Now pass me that plaster."

The younger of the two pouted, but otherwise did as he was told, plucking the clean plaster off the surface beside him and handing it to his impatient twin. Vanitas tore open the plaster and peeled of the annoying pieces of waxy paper which covered the sticky edges before reaching for his brother's leg and smoothing it across his wound with odd gentleness. "Thank you…" Sora suddenly whispered as he fumbled with his spiky hair, his cheeks heating up with obvious embarrassment. It wasn't often he thanked his brother and on the odd occasion that he did, it was often laced with sarcasm that only he could get away with. In this case, however, he was being deadly serious for possibly the first time…ever.

Vanitas grunted in response and slapped his brother's knee for good measure, ignoring the cry of pain that slipped past the brunette's lips. "Yeah, whatever. Don't go getting all sloppy on me."

"As if that's possible with you around to constantly torment me…" Sora muttered, wincing as he clutched at his throbbing leg with both of his hands. The raven haired teenager shrugged, a small smirk making its way onto his lips as he swung himself up onto the counter beside his twin. "You have a point."

The brunette sighed out of relief as the soreness in his leg finally subsided and he risked a glance at his brother, who was watching him with obvious dry amusement as he cradled his injured leg to his chest. "What?" Sora asked testily. "What are you smiling at?"

For a while, Vanitas remained silent, his golden orbs continuing to bore into Sora's ocean blue ones, causing the brunette to squirm under the intense scrutiny. Soon, what had been a simple observation turned into a concentrated staring competition that neither wanted to back out of. The two of them didn't so much as blink, even when Zack suddenly swung into the kitchen, chugging down the remainder of his tea and dropping his now empty cup into the sink with a loud clunk.

"Hi kids," The raven haired man called brightly, turning around to face the boys with a grin. His grin faltered slightly as he cocked his head to the side to observe his son's as they continued to glare unblinkingly at one another. "O-kay…" Zack slowly edged his way towards the kitchen door, "I'll just…leave you to your, uh, staring contest. Have fun!"

"Thanks." The two of them replied simultaneously, not even glancing in their father's direction as he finally retreated from the kitchen, shaking his head and chuckling with amusement. "Those two sure are competitive."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 819<em>  
><em>Date added; 2211/11_

My word limit is getting better! I'm managing to shorten them down. XD

My next theme is; **'Blackmail'**

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	8. Blackmail

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Here we go! A dose of cheeky, matchmaking Sora coming right up! I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Blackmail~<strong>

"No." Vanitas barked as he continued striding away from his brother, "I'm not going."

Sora suddenly appeared in front of him, his arms folded defiantly over his chest. Vanitas almost did a double take. He still couldn't get over how much Sora had matured over the last six months. Normally, he would whinge and whine until Vanitas either gave in or whacked him. But nowadays, he seemed to take the more strategic route. Like now- he was forcing him to actually think of a reasonable explanation as to why he couldn't attend Kairi's birthday party.

"C'mon, Van. She's our friend! Besides, you don't even have to buy her a present; I've already taken care of that." Sora pointed out, raising his shoulders in a half shrug.

The raven haired teenager pushed past the brunette and shook his head with an air of finality. "She's _your_ friend. Not mine. The answer's still no." He half turned when his brother grasped onto his shirt, his lips falling into an all-too familiar pout, "I mean it, Sora." He growled as he shrugged off the brunette's arm and continued walking, glancing left and right before crossing the road.

"I'll do your chores for the rest of this month." Sora called from his side of the street, jogging to match his pace with that of his reluctant twin's. Silence. So he tried again, "I'll buy you those headphones you've been after for ages?" When he was greeted with an emotionless silence for the second time, he tapped his chin, deep in thought. Suddenly, he grinned as a thought struck him, "On top of that, I'll do your science work!"

Vanitas scoffed, turning his head towards the brunette who was watching him with hopeful curiosity. "One, you already owe me for not telling Zack about what that mutt of yours did to his favourite shirt last week." Sora's face instantly dropped as his brother continued with a logical, almost mocking air to him, "Two, Aerith has already bought those headphones for me and put them away for Christmas. And three," He paused, fixing his brother with a flat stare, "Your attempt at that science project would be no better than mine."

Sora let out a defeated groan, searching the road for any cars before sprinting across to join his twin. "You got me there." He took in a deep breath, shaking his head in mock disapproval. "Fine. I see how it is. I'm sorry to have to do this to you, Van…" The younger brother trailed off and pulled his phone from his pocket, scrolling through his contacts for a moment, before putting the device to his ear. Vanitas slowed to a halt, his golden eyes narrowing as he watched his brother shift from foot to foot, the mobile clutched to his ear. He didn't like this. Whatever it was, it was going to be bad.

"Xion? Hey! It's Sora! I was just wondering…do you have a date for tonight?" The brunette met his twin's gaze, raising his eyebrows challengingly. This was not good at all. Vanitas felt his face drain of colour, but he kept his scowl in place, his arms folding over his chest. Trust him to bring…her into this. Ever since Sora had found out about his small interest in Xion, he hadn't been able to shut up about it, almost letting it slip to Kairi, and even Roxas on several occasions. According to the brunette, it was his 'trump card' into getting Vanitas to do whatever he wanted him to. Not that Vanitas could be forced into doing anything, hell no. But it was always difficult whenever Sora brought her up.

"Oh? You don't?" Sora paused, a small grin appearing on his lips, "Yes- he's the reason I'm calling. Actually, he wanted to talk to you himself. He's right here. Oh? Yes, of course! I'll pass you over. Bye, Xion!"

Vanitas cringed inwardly as Sora thrust the mobile device under his nose, making elaborate gestures at him. The golden eyed teenager gritted his teeth and shook his head, but Sora pushed the device up to his ear and elbowed him in the gut, causing him to let out a grunt of surprise.

'_Vanitas? Is that you? Are you alright?' _Xion's gentle voice floated down from the other end of the phone. Vanitas gave his brother one last glare before snatching the phone from his grasp and replying dryly, "Yeah, it's me. I'm fine." He snaked a hand forwards and dragged Sora's retreating form back towards him by yanking roughly on the brunette's collar.

'_Oh, alright! So, Sora said you wanted to talk to me… Is there any particular reason why?' _Xion giggled softly into the receiver, making the raven haired teenager's insides undeniably melt. Annoyingly enough, he simply couldn't bring himself to let her down… "Uh yeah, Xion, there was…"

I'm not going." Vanitas said monotonously within seconds after Xion hung up, no longer 'dateless' for her cousin's birthday party. Sora, who was standing beside him, shook his head and tutted disapprovingly, "I think you'll find you are."

"I hate you." Vanitas spat as he chucked his brother's phone at his head, only just missing his target. Pity. He would have loved for it to leave a massive dent in that balloon head of his. Or a bruise. Anything that would inflict terrible pain on the all too bubbly brunette.

"Aw, c'mon, you've got yourself a date with Xion! Be happy!" Sora replied cheerfully, catching his phone with ease before slinging an arm around his twin's neck.

"I despise you." Vanitas responded, shrugging off the brunette's arm and fixing him with an infuriated glare.

"Wow, a whole night with Xion! Woohoo!" Sora clapped his hands together excitedly, grinning cheekily.

"I loathe you." Was all Vanitas said as he stalked away from his brother, his mind still reeling from the fact that his idiotic twin had somehow blackmailed him into attending Kairi's party, with Xion, no less. What was the world coming to?

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,000<em>  
><em>Date added; 2311/11_

My next theme is... **'Sandpit' **

It'll be up tomorrow, in time for my birthday, yay!

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	9. Sandpit

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

I'm updating on my birthday, yay! Being sixteen is no different to being fifteen, to be honest!

I had such fun writing it, so all that's left to say is...bring it on!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Sandpit~<strong>

"Say, would you look at that…" Tifa whispered, nudging Aerith without taking her eyes off the four toddlers floundering in the small sandpit, creating sandcastles and forts with their small, meaty hands. She never grew tired of watching what the kids got up to when caught in their own little world of imagination. Sometimes, she'd often wish she were their age again, so she could be a part of it and not have to worry about anything but having fun.

The green eyed woman glanced up from her book and smiled warmly upon noticing the four children playing nicely alongside one another for the first time…well, ever. Vanitas was properly joining in today, which made a lovely change. He was currently sat beside Ventus, patting down on the sand around the base of the young blonde's sand fort, his eyes narrowed with such concentration that his tongue hung out ever so slightly. "He's finally showing some interest."

Aerith nodded, putting her book aside as she continued to observe her two sons playing alongside the Strife twins in the small sandpit placed in their backyard, thankfully beneath a large apple tree to shield the tots from the harsh summer sun. "I'm glad, Aerith." Tifa continued softly, "He always used to be so alone. It's wonderful to see him finally getting along with Ven and Roxas."

And it was true. For the first couple of weeks, the golden eyes toddler has shown no interest in playing whatsoever; instead he chose to sit on his own, creating little patterns in the sand with his fingers whilst Sora played harmoniously with the two blondes. It had been odd at first, but soon everybody had learnt to accept it, especially after Vanitas pushed Ventus over when he'd tried to get him to join in with them. But now, it was as if the golden eyes tot was finally beginning to come out of his shell for the first time.

All of a sudden, Vanitas stopped patting down on the sand and tugged Ven over to where Roxas and Sora were sat before allowing the young blonde to plop himself down between them, staring at a pile of sand by his feet. The golden eyes tot, however, started making several demanding gestures, ordering the three of them about by pointing his chubby fingers at some of the forts and grabbing a hold of Sora, pointing him at the nearest pile of sand, who instantly obeyed, taking a plastic blue spade in his hands and digging furiously at the sand by his feet. Aerith chuckled. He always had been a demanding child,

"He's sweet, in a demanding kind of way." Tifa commented with a small laugh. The brunette smiled and glanced across at her friend lounging in the chair beside her. "Van will always be Van. Demanding yet entirely sure of himself."

Vanitas looked up, as if sensing he was being talked about, staring wordlessly at his mother and her friend with his large, golden eyes, the smallest of smiles reaching his pale lips. The moment was over all too soon as he tottered over to his twin and grabbed him by the hair, ordering him to do something else whilst he sat amongst the three hard working kids, a satisfied smirk perching itself on his lips.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 550<em>  
><em>Date added; 2411/11_

My next theme is; **'Shampoo'**

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	10. Shampoo

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

I just want to say thank you for all of the reviews, alerts and follows I've received so far.. All of you are amazing and I can't believe some of the feedback I'm getting! Thank you!

What happens when Sora steals Vanitas' shampoo and uses it?... He blackmails him into buying him a new one, of course!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Shampoo~<strong>

Vanitas was just about to step into the shower cubicle, when he suddenly noticed the absence of his favourite cherry scented shampoo. He squinted at the empty spot on the shelf were it usually sat, the steam condensing from the scorching water swirled through the air, causing several droplets of sweat to roll down his left temple.

He stood frozen for a moment longer before whipping back around and flicking off the water. A scowl crept across his features as he reached behind him for the towel he'd flung carelessly on the radiator, wrapping it securely around his waist before yanking open the bathroom door and stalking towards his brother's room.

The teenager reached Sora's room and barged right in without knocking, smirking at the sight of Kairi sprawled on the floor, gaping openly at Vanitas standing in the doorway, half naked.

Sora, however, looked a little annoyed. "Cover up, will you?" He muttered, hurling a pillow at the raven haired teenager still standing demandingly in the doorway, his hands resting leisurely on his hips.

Vanitas caught the pillow with one hand, narrowing his eyes suspiciously and glancing about the room as the smell of fresh cherries hit his nostrils. "Where's my shampoo?" He asked testily, taking a step further into the cramped space, his golden orbs scanning the cluttered surfaces around Sora's room.

The brunette shifted uncomfortably from his position on the floor, "In the bathroom, last time I checked. Why?" He chuckled nervously, which only confirmed Vanitas' suspicions.

"Liar." The teenager spat, hurling the pillow back at his brother, using the distraction as a chance to ransack the brunette's room in his towel, much to Kairi's utter embarrassment.

"Where the hell did you put my shampoo? If I find out you've hidden it somewhere, or worse, used it, I will personally see to it that you die a horribly painful death, understood?" Vanitas growled as he pulled his head out of the brunette's messy closet, his search so far proving unfruitful. Speaking of fruits…

"It's not in here, so you may as well leave." Sora sighed, tossing the pillow aside and pulling himself to his feet. "Van, seriously."

Vanitas, however, was having none of it. The smell of cherries wafted through the air around him again, causing him to bristle with anger. He just wished his brother would stop lying. He's used it, and had now hidden it, fair enough. All he had to do was give it to him and apologise so he could get back to his darn shower. Then he could kick his ass afterwards. "If you tell me where it is, right now, I'll tone the beating down a notch, how's that?" Vanitas said sarcastically, meeting his brother's gaze with a flat glare.

Before Sora could even open his mouth to speak, a low whimper came from the brunette's bed sheets. The teenager watched as both his brother and Kairi's faces slowly turned as red as the latter's hair, much to his dismay.

Vanitas stalked over to the messy bed and tore back the sheets, a snarl slipping past his bared teeth as the smell of cherries became even stronger than before. Sure enough, Sora's dog sat amongst the covers, cowering away from the dark haired teenager, whining with obvious fear. "You used my shampoo…on your mutt?" Vanitas cried as he grabbed the dog by the scruff of its neck, lifting it up in front of his face and taking a hesitant sniff. Yep, definitely cherries. "Sora! When I get my hands on you, I will gladly tear your head from your shoulders! That was my last bloody bottle!"

"C'mon Van, I needed it!" Sora protested, rescuing his dog from his older brother's perilous clutches and dumping him into Kairi's awaiting arms. "Mom can buy you another!"

"I need it…now!" Vanitas hissed, grabbing a fistful of his brother's collar and jerking the brunette towards him. "If you don't give me the damn shampoo right this minute, I will not hesitate in hurling you into the dumpster, got it?"

Kairi cradled the frightened Barnaby in her arms as she watched from her position on the floor as the two brothers' continued to yell at each other, their voices getting louder and louder with each accusation hurled out into the open. She let out a heavy sigh and settled back amongst the covers of Sora's bed, lifting Barnaby up to her face and taking a deep sniff. He really did smell of cherries…

**~Fifteen minutes later~**

After fifteen minutes of yelling, Sora finally caved in, admitting that he'd used the entire bottle trying to rid Barnaby's fur of the mud he'd managed to cover himself in during their walk. Apparently it had been the first bottle Sora had grabbed and he hadn't even stopped to think about whose shampoo it was, he just used it. All of it.

Vanitas had not been pleased to say the least. He had demanded the brunette tell him why he had not thought of using the dog shampoo their mom had bought last week, saying that he would now have to pay for the bottle he had used, but it got even better.

Vanitas then ordered him to jog down to the corner store and buy him a new one at that very moment, otherwise he'd tell both his mom and Zack what had happened to an entire collection of dishes when Sora had 'accidently' slammed into the cupboard whilst trying to stop Barnaby from eating his pizza.

Sora had hastily agreed, leaving in a flash, not even bothering to grab his coat on the way out, leaving his twin and Kairi alone in his room.

"So, are you satisfied now?" Kairi asked the moment the front door slammed behind the brunette. Vanitas was standing in the doorway, his lower body still wrapped tightly in his towel, smirking to himself. He glanced over his shoulder and snorted, "Oh no. This is just the beginning."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 991<em>  
><em>Date added; 2611/11_

My next theme shall be; **'Mothers Day'**

I have no clue when it'll be up, but hopefully it won't be too long!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	11. Mother's Day

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora hasn't bought his mom her Mother's Day present yet and he's beginning to feel a little bit desperate... Vanitas seizes his chance, quite literally.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Mother's Day~<strong>

It was Mother's Day tomorrow, but Sora still hadn't bought his mother her gift and by now, the brunette was almost in a pure state of panic. Both his dad and brother had wrapped up their presents for Aerith weeks ago, suggesting that he do the same, but Sora had brushed them off, claiming he'd get around to it eventually. Except, he never did.

Sora threw aside his mattress for the third time that morning, scouring the clustered room for any sign of the wad of money he'd stashed away a few months ago. So far, his search had been in vain and he was still no closer to buying something for his mum. He let out a defeated whimper and slid down the nearest wall, allowing his head to fall into his upturned hands. "I'm officially doomed for all eternity." He groaned, rubbing his forehead exasperatedly.

"Not necessarily." A dark voice chuckled.

Sora's head snapped up, meeting his brother's golden eyes with a hopeful, yet suspicious frown. "What…do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said, idiot. But it'll cost you," He held up two fingers, Sora's missing wad of money clamped firmly between them, smirking devilishly as he noticed his brother's azure eyes widen with recognition.

"Hey, that's mine! You found it!" The brunette gasped excitedly, scrambling to his feet and all but launching himself at his twin, his hands clawing at thin air. "What gives?" Sora pouted as he peeled himself off his brother's chest long enough to see that Vanitas had moved his hand higher, ultimately keeping his money well out of his reach. "C'mon Van, that's mine!"

"I know it is," Vanitas scoffed, pushing his brother back to the carpeted floor with a thud. "But as I said- it'll cost you."

The brunette's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he pulled himself to his knees, "I'll cost me…how?"

The raven haired teenager's grin came back in a flash. "I'm glad you asked, Sora." He turned on his heel and began to pace the small, cluttered room, "In return for your money, you will grant me a series of requests."

"Anything!" The brunette whined, scrambling up from the floor and clutching his hands to his chest as he watched his brother continue to pace the room. "Please! Just give me the money!"

"Listen!" Vanitas barked, silencing his twin with an angry glare. "Now, as I was saying. You will grant me these requests, or you shall never see thus money again. Clear?"

"Crystal…" Sora mumbled sadly, hanging his head in shame. He should really learn to guard his belongings more carefully. No wonder he found himself getting into more and more of these sticky situations. Vanitas was smart and he was thick. No denying it. There. He'd admitted it. Just…not aloud.

"Good. My first request… Hmm." Vanitas paused and suddenly clicked his fingers together triumphantly. "Convince mom to let me buy a cat."

Sora's reaction was instantaneous. "What? No! Barnaby hates cats! You know this!" The brunette gasped, his mouth hanging open at the sound of such an absurd request.

Vanitas promptly shot him a death glare, warning him to hold his tongue, which he did, out of fear of losing his money and having to deal with the despair of knowing he had nothing to give his mother tomorrow. "Second, you will complete all of my chores for the next month and finish off my English essay for me."

The brunette let out a whine of protest, but said nothing, clamping his lips shut as his twin twirled the wad of money pointedly between his thumb and forefinger. "My last request…" Vanitas paused, his cheeks taking on a pink hue that would have gone unnoticed by anybody who didn't know the golden eyed boy inside and out. "Get Xion to go out with me." He finally declared.

"You…you… Sorry, what?" Sora gaped confusedly at his twin, wondering if he had really heard his brother right. Xion Takashari? He knew Vanitas had always had a soft spot for her, ever since the day he'd laid eyes on her, but he never thought in his life that he would act on it. "You want me to get Xion to go…out with you?"

Vanitas wheeled on his brother and scowled before snapping, "That's what I said, isn't it?"

Sora blushed and ducked his head, "Yeah." He paused and massaged his temples. "Fine. You can count on me to try! Now gimme my money!" The brunette launched himself at his brother but completely missed his target and was sent crashing to the floor…again. He was really beginning to get tired of receiving a mouthful of carpet.

"Uh uh. You've got to fulfil my requests first." Vanitas clicked his tongue and knelt down beside Sora's sprawled form. "Pay up brother."

Sora pulled himself up into a sitting position and paled. "You mean…now?"

Vanitas snorted and slapped the brunette on the back, "The first and third request yeah. The second one is…extended payment for not telling mom you forgot."

The younger twin's eyes widened and he shot to his feet. "Fine! I'll do it! Just you watch!" And with that, he disappeared from the room to find his mother and complete his brother's rather insane first request.

**~Four Hours Later~**

"Vanitaaaaaaaas." Sora groaned as he hauled himself across the threshold of his brother's pitch black room. "I did it; can I have my money now?"

All of a sudden, a rectangular object hit him in the forehead. It fell to the ground by the brunette's feet and he stooped down to retrieve it, overjoyed when he realised it was his money.

"Well done. You're not as idiotic as I first thought." Vanitas praised monotonously from somewhere to the right.

The brunette was quick to pout, rubbing his injured forehead with his free hand. "The first one was easy. Convincing Xion to go out with you? Even easier. She really likes you. And I guess you must really like her too!"

He let out a high pitched squeak as Vanitas suddenly hurled something larger and ultimately heavier at him, narrowly missing by a hairs width. "Shut up and get out, moron. We're done here."

Sora rolled his eyes and retreated from the room, but not before adding, "You two really suit, y'know." He quickly ducked as yet another item came sailing towards his head, followed by a string of curses, courtesy of his charming older brother.

The brunette chuckled to himself and scurried back to his bedroom, eager to grab his shoes and rush into town for last minute shopping while his mother was preoccupied with the washing.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,099<em>  
><em>Date added; 0312/11_

It's a little over, but I was in a rush! :(

I haven't even started my next theme yet, so I'll have to work on it this week. From now on I'm gonna try and update once a week!

Sorry if I keep you waiting!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	12. Pillow

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Vanitas got his wish and now has a cat! Needless to say it manages to cause a bit of mayhem for a particular brunette who isn't too pleased about having it around.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Pillow~<strong>

Sora held his recently mauled pillow up in front of his face and outright scowled at it. Never, in his life, had he ever hated an animal as much as he did now. And to make matters even more typical, said animal he happened to hate right now happened to be owned by his own brother Vanitas. It was really odd…the two of them seemed to share the exact same mannerisms, if that were at all possible!

The brunette let out an exasperated groan and threw the destroyed pillow over his shoulder before glaring down at the small cat curled up in his favourite hoody, licking contentedly at one of its front paws. His glare deepened as the cat suddenly paused mid-lick to stare at him with its wide blue eyes as if taunting him into doing something he'd thoroughly regret. Before the cat could get to him, Sora twirled on his heel and began pacing, taking in deep breaths to try and calm himself. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"Vanitas! Get this cat out of my room right now or I swear I'll attack it with mom's hairdryer!" He screamed whilst curling and uncurling his fists before glancing across at Barnaby as he let out another whimper. The poor Labrador was hunched in one of the corners of the room, whimpering and whining to himself, his chocolate brown eyes never leaving the white cat tangled amongst the purple hoody. And frankly, he couldn't blame the poor dog for being as frightened as he was.

As soon as Vanitas had brought the _thing_ home, Barnaby had been all curious and loving at first, eager to have met a new play friend, until it had hissed at him and scratched his nose. Ever since then, Barnaby confined himself to either Sora's parents' room or the bathroom, choosing to hide behind Sora's legs if the cat got too close.

When his brother didn't immediately reply, Sora stalked from the room in search of his infuriating twin, refraining himself from kicking at the damn cat Vanitas had appropriately named Precious.

The thing was a nuisance! Ever since he'd convinced mom to let Vanitas buy one, he'd had a sneaking suspicion he'd regret it. And boy, he couldn't have been more right. That bleeding animal had barely been living with them for a month and it had already traumatised his dog and not to mention it had torn apart four of his pillows in quick succession. And who had to pay for their replacements? Him, of course! After all, it was _his_ fault for 'letting it into his room in the first place'. The thing was he never, ever left his door open. Either it was a ninja cat, or Vanitas was just messing with him. He strongly suspected the second option.

Curse him and his cursed luck!

The brunette stormed down the flight of stairs in a rare temper and headed straight for the computer room where Vanitas normally could be found in his spare time for a bit of peace and quiet. But his peace and quiet wasn't going to last for long, oh no. He was on a rampage of destruction right now.

Sora slammed the door open, causing several of the shelves around the room to shudder as it swung around on its hinges and hit the wall behind it. Vanitas was curled up in the massive swivel chair in front of the computer, frowning at the page of a random book he had in his slender hands.

He barely even batted an eyelid as the brunette took an infuriated step into the room, his eyes narrowing on his brother. "Will you…please…control that cat of yours? It's torn apart another one of my pillows!" Sora seethed, refusing to give into the temptation of ripping the book from his twin's hands and whacking him around the head with it. He'd only receive a harsher punishment in return. "I can't take it anymore!"

"So?" Vanitas muttered monotonously, marking his page number and setting the book aside before swivelling around in his chair to glare at his younger twin. "And it's my problem how?"

"So, I've gone through four freaking pillows! Mom thinks I'm doing it on purpose! And she doesn't believe me when I tell her it was your cat!" Sora whined, stomping his foot childishly.

"Just replace it, like you've done with the last four." The dark haired teenager replied flippantly, an amused smirk occupying his features as he watched his younger brother all but writhe with annoyance.

"Do I **look** like I'm made of money?" The brunette pouted, folding his arms across his chest and tapping his fingers against his forearm agitatedly.

Vanitas cocked his head to the side, as if really considering his twin's rhetorical question. "As a matter of fact…" He paused and drummed his fingernails on the arm rests, grinning cruelly up at the exasperated looking brunette. "No."

"You're ridiculous." Sora groaned, rubbing at his temples as if to ward of a headache. "Just please, keep it out of my room. If you can't control your own pet, then what's the point in keeping it?"

"If you didn't let it into your room then we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?" Vanitas snapped, flicking his hands at his younger brother, his face a picture of annoyance. "Whatever. I'll go and_retrieve_ her from your room, shall I brother?"

Sora narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his brother as he rose from his chair and shoved past him to leave the room. The brunette followed him out into the hallway, still suspicious. "And you'll keep her in here, with you?"

"Yes, idiot." Vanitas responded dismissively, resisting the urge to smirk. He had purposely made sure that his cat spent as much time in Sora's room as possible, not that he'd ever tell the brunette that. He fixed his brother with a blank stare before waltzing up the stairs with long, languid strides, chuckling amusedly to himself.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 999<em>  
><em>Date added; 1112/11_

Yay! It's under by one word! *laughs manically*

For some reason, my teachers seem intent on murdering with me with both homework and mock exams. But never fear! I'll try desperately to update it on time!

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	13. Snow

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Three year old Sora & Vanitas? Yays! Yet again, I'm making Vanitas a lot more intelligent than any other normal toddler his age. It's not like he could ever be dumb as a baby though, is it?

So, Vanitas hates snow and Zack wants to change his mind. Will it work? Probably not.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Snow~<strong>

It had snowed. Snow was cold and wet and annoying. He didn't know what it was or how it had suddenly appeared over night, but he didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. And therefore, Vanitas was inside where it was warm, sat in front of the window as he glared in a criticising manner out at the icy world before him, his golden eyes narrowed into slits. His twin, Sora, had taken to the snow a lot better than he had and waddled around in the knee deep stuff, a pair of blue wellingtons strapped to his chubby feet. Every so often, he'd run over to Aerith, holding a lump of snow in his hands, a broad smile stretched across his face.

The young woman would graciously accept the snow with a genuine smile and mould it into a random shape in her delicate hands before giving it back to the brunette who would marvel at its sudden change with wide crystalline eyes. Vanitas scowled. His mother never made him shapes out of snow. But what was the point in it if it was cold and could easily be broken? The stuff quickly turned to mush in Sora's warm hands, what with the amount of times he squished and squashed it in his palms.

Once or twice Sora would fall over, which made Vanitas laugh, and their mother would drop everything and rush to his side, brushing him off and cooing soft things in his ear. Luckily, Sora didn't seem to mind falling over too much. He'd clamber back to his feet with a goofy grin and begin waddling around again, kicking up the soft snow around his lower legs, giggling to himself.

Vanitas' eyes narrowed even further and a scowl appeared on his pale lips. He still didn't understand how somebody could have fun in something as cold and wet as the stuff which coated the entire world outside. He didn't like it. It made people fall over and turned to soggy slush after a while. How was that fun?

The raven haired tot crossed his arms over his chest and continued to glare at his brothers' playing form, wishing his mom would pay more attention to him than Sora. But of course, she was with him and Vanitas was sat on his own.

Zack suddenly strode into the living room, tugging a pair of gloves onto his hands whilst whistling a bright and happy tune under his breath. As soon as he sighted his son's hunched form pressed against the cool glass, he stopped mid step and dropped the gloves onto the nearest sofa, calling softly, "Vani?"

Vanitas stiffened but made no other indication that he'd noticed his father's presence. Zack rolled his eyes. He'd known, right from the start that Vanitas was going to be a little tyke to raise. Boy, he couldn't have been more right. From a very young age he displayed an excellent range of vocabulary and could often be found doing things kids his age wouldn't normally be doing. Like making beans on toast or dressing himself for example. He also hated being around others. Zack had found this rather strange, but Aerith had taken it all in her stride, accepting her son's abnormal behaviour. Zack was trying… but Vanitas made it rather difficult.

"Come on Van, you want to join us outside?" He asked as he crossed over to where the tot was sat, keeping his gaze trained on the back of his raven head.

"No." Vanitas replied bluntly, not budging an inch from where he sat, curled up in front of the window.

"Why not?" The man asked, taking another hesitant step towards the young boy.

"Because." Was all the boy said, not even turning his head in his father's direction as he knelt down beside him, his molten gaze trained unrelenting on his younger twin.

"Being out in the snow is fun." Zack continued cheerily, trying to coax more out of his normally rather articulate son.

"It doesn't look it." Vanitas pointed out, his voice taking on a scornful tone, "It's cold and wet and it hurts if you get hit by it."

"It's cold, yeah, but fun. And nobody out there is going to throw it at you, just play in it." The young father encouraged excitedly.

"I'll get told off if I play." The raven haired toddler muttered, choosing to pick at a scab on his knee with his long fingernails.

"What?" Zack laughed incredulously, scooping his son up into his arms, ignoring the noises of protests shot in his direction. "No you won't Vani."

Vanitas tilted his head to the side and glared up at his father. "Sora throws snow at me and says we're playing. I throw snow at him and I get told off."

"Well… That's kind of different Van." Zack murmured.

The toddler made an almost disappointed noise and slid out of his father's arms, his stony expression settling back into place. "I'm staying here." He said with an air of finality.

"Vani…" The young man started.

"I'm staying here." He repeated coldly, folding his arms over his chest for effect.

Zack let out a sigh and pulled himself up to his feet. "Okay Vani." He walked towards the kitchen and risked a glance back at his son. Vanitas looked even more pitiful than he had before he'd come over to see him. On a whim, he turned at the last second and called, "How about I make you a hot chocolate before I go out?"

The young boy's head visibly rose, half turning in Zack's direction, a small smile lifting his lips at the corners. "Yes."

"Alrighty." Zack breathed, swinging into the kitchen and chuckling lightly to himself. Vanitas was hard to please and even harder to convince, but he never could resist a cup of hot chocolate.

In the living room, Vanitas pulled his knees to his chest and smirked. He always got what he wanted in the end.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,000<em>  
><em>Date added; 1712/11_

1,000 words on the dot. Wooop!

I've literally just come up with a few ideas for my next theme, but it's still under construction. Blergh.

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	14. Horror Movies

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora's fed up of having to put up with Vanitas' obsession with horror films and decides to extract his revenge, one romantic comedy at a time.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Horror Movies~<strong>

Sora hated horror movies. And it wasn't because they were scary, which they were, it was because Vanitas insisted on watching them at the ridiculous of times. That and his dearest brother loved to torture him whenever he got the chance. And tonight? Vanitas had decided to stick on the most sadistic and stomach-churning films Sora had ever seen in his life. The Saw Franchise.

What sick and twisted mind had come up with them anyway?

The whole hacking and slashing thing really made his stomach churn with disgust while his twin would just burst out laughing, replaying the really nasty parts, for his benefit, of course.

Sora pulled a pillow up to cover his face as a particularly gruesome part came on and made a muffled sound of protest. He didn't know why his brother couldn't be normal and watch the action films their dad seemed to enjoy so much or even the lovey-dovey films their mother was somewhat obsessed with. Anything but these grisly, gore-filled films, if you could even _call_ them films. They basically showed the oh-so many ways you could kill a person.

As if hacking them to bits with a chainsaw wasn't bad enough. The brunette shuddered. Texas Chainsaw Massacre had left him mentally disturbed for days. Yet Vanitas had insisted it 'wasn't all that bad'. Whatever.

He peeked over his cushion to see his twin staring at the TV, his expression a mixture of disgust and fascination. As if sensing Sora's eyes on him, the raven haired teenager glanced at him and muttered disdainfully, "Anybody would think you're actually scared."

Sora placed the pillow between him and the TV, trying to block out the screams of people being brutally slaughtered as he turned in his seat to glare at his twin. "I demand we watch something else."

Vanitas' eyebrows shot up into his hairline and he let out a cackle of amusement. "You're actually scared! I always knew you were a wuss, but this is pathetic Sora, pathetic."

The brunette bristled uncomfortably as the screaming from the film increased and yelled, "Let me choose a film or I promise you, you will forever have to live with the embarrassment of having the entire school population stumble across your emails to a particular cousin of Kairi's!"

At this, the raven haired twin flicked the pause button on the remote and outright glared at his brother, "You wouldn't _dare_." He hissed his voice dangerously low and threatening.

Sora puffed his chest out triumphantly. "Yes, I would. You know I will. I don't even care what you're back-up threat is. Do whatever you want. We _are_ going to watch something different, whether you like it or not."

The older twin looked about ready to explode, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists as he struggled to hold back the urge to throw something heavy at his brother's abnormally large head. "Can't you go mope around in your room like that mangy mutt of yours?"

"No." Sora laughed incredulously. "That's much too boring."

"Since when did you grow a backbone?" Vanitas muttered as he finally resigned to a reluctant defeat, stabbing the eject button on the remote, much to the brunette's delight.

Sora tapped his chin thoughtfully and replied haughtily, "I dunno. Since when did you admit defeat?"

Vanitas shot him a glare which basically told him to shut up, and so he did, without even allowing himself to laugh as he trotted over to the DVD player and extracted the crude film his brother had chosen earlier. He gingerly placed it back into its case and tossed it over his shoulder in a disgusted manner, to which Vanitas responded with a warning growl.

Sora pointedly placed the other six movies to the side before sidling over to the DVD cabinet, scouring its contents for something…mushy.

He wanted his brother to suffer and what better to cause this suffering than forcing him to endure a sappy romantic comedy or two? He would hate him for life, but Sora was already getting so many kicks out of this just thinking about it!

He held back an evil chuckle as he pulled 'Mamma Mia' from the pile, followed closely by 'Bride Wars', both of which were two of his mother's favourites, pausing only to add 'P.S I Love You, which sounded even more lovey-dovey than the first two. He didn't understand them, or even know what they were about but it made no difference to him. If it made his brother squirm, then his confusion would totally be worth it.

"For your sake, you better not be picking out anything remotely to do with romance." Vanitas suddenly muttered his voice somewhat suspicious and perhaps a little…worried? Sora wanted to laugh aloud. He'd finally uncovered his brother's kryptonite! And about time, too!

"Oh, dear brother, then you cannot even begin to comprehend what horrors lie before you tonight." The brunette cackled in an almost evil voice as he wheeled around to face his brother, brandishing his selection of films.

Vanitas stared blankly at him before bolting up from his chair and stalking towards the door. "No. Chance. In Hell."

"Get back here Vani!" Sora gasped indignantly, waving the DVD's about his head desperately. "You know what'll happen!"

At this, Vanitas seemed to shudder in the doorway, but he made no move to leave. He half turned and fixed his brother with the deadliest mother of glares which would have frightened the brunette to death had he actually been looking. But he was too busy scouring over the description of the films to notice. Vanitas slumped back into his chair with a groan, throwing a lazy arm over his face. "Get it over with already."

"Aw Vani! I knew you'd come around." Sora piped, placing the first film into the DVD player, his palms itching with gleeful anticipation.

"For lack of better wording; screw you." The raven haired teenager spat, hurling the remote at Sora's head and using the opportunity to peek at the screen from behind his fingers, allowing the smallest glimmer of his inquisitiveness to show. He'd never watched a romantic comedy before…

Sora pouted but said nothing as he bounced back onto the couch, pressing play on the remote, eagerly awaiting his brother's imminent torture. "What'll you do if you actually enjoy these?" He asked curiously, noticing how Vanitas was slowly removing his hands from his face as the title screen came up.

The older brother met the brunette's gaze with a blank stare, "I will torture you and make your life a living hell until the day I die and even then I will haunt you into the afterlife. Oh, that and I'll tell mom about the dishes."

The brunette seemed to consider this, a baffled expression crossing his features before he asked quizzically, "You still believe in ghosts and the afterlife?"

Vanitas face palmed.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,147<br>Date added; 24/12/11_

I quite like this one. I can just imagine Sora extracting revenge by making Vanitas watching 'romantic comedies' and then his plan drastically back-firing. I may do a follow up to this drabble sometime, maybe, maybe not. We'll see!

The theme will be either; **'Fighting' **or **'Snitch'**

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	15. Fighting

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Vanitas keeps getting into fights and Sora's about to find out why.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Fighting~<strong>

"Mom is not going to be happy…" Sora groaned for the umpteenth time in the past half hour as he tried desperately to keep his brother from falling onto the pavement.

"Shut it." Vanitas replied through gritted teeth, struggling to keep his balance.

"I mean it. She's not going to be happy _at all_." Sora wailed, shifting his twin's weight long enough to rotate his shoulder in an attempt to get the blood flowing through it again.

"I said _shut it_ didn't I?" Vanitas spat.

Sora clamped his lips together and said nothing more, shuffling feebly towards their front door, his palms beginning to sweat at the thought of what was about to happen. His brother was slumped heavily against him, not caring whether or not it put the brunette off balance, seemingly relying solely on him to get them both back home.

He knew what his mom would say the moment she set eyes on them as they walked in through that front door… Well, actually 'say' wasn't the right word. Interrogate would be more appropriate. And she wouldn't stop until she had some solid answers.

Why are you covered in blood? Were you fighting? Who were you fighting with? Why must you be so irresponsible? Why did you let him get into a fight in the first place, Sora? Why do you feel the need to constantly provoke people, Vanitas?

And they were only a few of the possible questions she would bombard them with.

Sora groaned and pulled his twin closer as they stopped in front of the door, ignoring the death glare his brother shot in his direction. Slowly, he reached a hand out and twisted the doorknob, hoping against hope that their mom was out and wouldn't be around to see the mess he was about to drag into the hallway.

But of course, luck just wasn't on their side.

No sooner had the brunette swung the door open, their mother appeared in the entrance, the loving smile which normally could be seen on her lips vanishing the moment she caught sight of her two sons cowering before her. She let out a gasp of surprise and was instantly by their side, pulling Vanitas into her arms and dragging him towards the kitchen, despite his protests, leaving Sora dumfounded.

What…had…just…happened? Where was the yelling? The questions? The tears?

He cautiously followed them, but stopped a stone's throw away from the kitchen doorway and listened intently as his mother's strained voice reached his ears, "…you're doing Vanitas? Why must you get yourself into these sorts of situations? Both you and your brother could have gotten seriously hurt!" She let out a ragged sigh, "Why did you fight this time, Vanitas?"

Sora leant forwards as he too wanted to know why Vanitas had gotten himself into that fight. He heard his brother let out a grunt and the brunette could almost see him crossing his arms over his chest out of annoyance. "I have no reason, mom." He paused and muttered almost as an afterthought, "I'm sorry I worried you."

He waited for his mom to continue, when she suddenly opened the kitchen door, a disapproving frown reaching her delicate features. Sora flinched and backed up, but she merely offered him a smile and ruffled his hair. "I hope you can knock some sense into him, Sora. Because he's just not listening to me."

He opened his mouth to retort that his brother didn't listen to him either, but she chuckled and swept past him, humming a happy tune under her breath. Surprisingly enough, she appeared to have let them off the hook and she hadn't reprimanded them yet. But, he figured, there was still plenty of time for that.

He took a hesitant step into the kitchen and kept his eyes downcast, waiting for Vanitas to start muttering obscenities at him. But when his brother remained strangely silent, he glanced up to see his bloody and bruised face tilted back, his amber eyes glaring at the ceiling, not paying any attention to his twin standing aimlessly in the doorway.

Sora frowned and leant back against the doorframe, "So, why did you fight with Seifer this time?"

Vanitas' golden gaze instantly fell upon him, his glare still in place. "Because, idiot."

"Because…?" Sora probed, his eyebrows furrowing into a confused frown as he stepped closer to his brother, his eyes glancing over the several bruises beginning to form on his face.

The raven haired teenager shook his head and let out a loud, biting laugh, "What does it matter? It's done with now." He shook his head angrily and pulled himself up onto the counter, letting out a low hiss of pain, clutching his side with one hand. "For the love of…"

"Don't swear!" Sora yelled before Vanitas even had a chance to finish his sentence. His brother glanced across at him, a blank stare occupying his features, his golden eyes glinting, as if he wanted to shout something back. The brunette shook his head and walked hastily over to the fridge freezer. "I'll get you an ice pack."

Vanitas narrowed his eyes on his twin as he watched him rummage through the freezer, searching for something he could use, before settling for a bag of frozen peas. When the brunette turned around and offered him a lopsided grin, the older of the two lifted a delicate eyebrow and grunted to show he really couldn't care less.

Sora rolled his eyes and eased himself up onto the counter beside him, pressing the bag into his brother's outstretched hand. "You really need to stop picking fights with people for no reason. Especially with Seifer…"

Vanitas growled and shoved the frozen bag to his side, relaxing slightly as the pain began to dissipate. Only then did he whisper in a gruff voice, "If he stops picking on you, maybe I won't have to keep kicking his ass."

Sora managed to supress a smile, leaning back on his elbows as he continued to study his brother. Even if Vanitas would never admit it, he cared about him, more than anyone and would stick up for him in any dire situation. But then, that's what brothers were for, after all.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,039<br>Date added; 02/01/12_

I'll be starting on the next drabble as soon as I can, but I start back to school soon so I might be a little late!

My next theme will be; '**Snitch**'

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	16. Snitch

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Let's face it – nobody likes a snitch!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Snitch~<strong>

Sora waltzed towards his brother's bedroom which was situated across the hallway, meaning to ask him if he could borrow his Converses for the day when he heard the unmistakeable music from the opening of 'Mamma Mia' blaring from behind the closed door to Vanitas' domain.

Slowly, not wanting to alert his twin of his presence, he began to push down on the door handle, opening it just wide enough for him to peer in. Sure enough, his brother lay sprawled across the width of his bed, stroking at his menace of a cat, his eyes glued to the screen as Sophie began to sing. She was walking towards the letter box, clutching at three separate letters she was planning on sending to her three possible fathers, inviting them to her wedding. He smothered a laugh by harshly clamping his teeth down on his lips, wanting to remain unknown for as long as possible.

Suddenly, much to his despair, Vanitas' head snapped around and his molten gaze fell upon the spying brunette, his eyes instantly narrowing into thin slits. "If you want to sneak around, you should try being a lot quieter. I heard you trampling around before you even left your room."

The brunette let out a huff of annoyance and threw the door open wide before bounding in and settling himself in the swivel chair located by his twin's pristine desk. When he began to wheel the chair nearer to Vanitas, the ball of fur curled up in his brother's lap started hissing and scratching at the air inches away from his jean clad legs. Sora quickly recoiled and settled for sitting by the opposite wall, well away from Vanitas' dreaded cat, "Yikes. Won't you at least _try_ to control that bag of fur?"

The golden eyed teenager let out a snort of amusement, turning his attention back to the screen as Sophie finally stopped singing, having made the worrisome decision of posting the three letters to the three individual men. "Why would I want to stop her when she was so close to scratching your legs off? Aside from the fact it would be a bloody mess, it would be rather amusing to watch not to mention I'm sure your screaming and squealing would provide great entertainment for those imbeciles on YouTube."

In response, Sora rolled his eyes and slumped in his chair, glaring at the screen for a long while before something suddenly clicked. Instead of replying to his brother's rather mean and sadistic comment, he pointed to the television and smirked knowingly. "You're watching romantic comedies. Willingly." He glanced sharply across at his twin and noticed the way his hand stopped trailing along the back of his cat, his fingers knotting angrily into its slick fur.

"Wow, maybe there is some hope for you yet. Your point?" Vanitas snapped in a bored tone, proceeding to scratch testily at his cat's ears when it wailed, keeping his eyes trained firmly on the screen, refusing to meet his brother's taunting and ultimately teasing gaze.

Sora grinned and discreetly wheeled closer, wearily eyeing the cat which seemed to thankfully have entirely forgotten about his presence.

He glanced down when the chair shuddered to a surprising halt and let out a gasp upon sighting a crumpled paper back lodged beneath the wheels. He leant down and tugged it free, examining its blurb contently, "You're reading a novel?" He flipped the book in his hands and scrutinised the cover for a few seconds before Vanitas reached across and jerked it from his grasp, but not before he noticed the title staring hungrily back at him, "Is that... P.S I Love You? The _book_?"

"You can read, too? Congratulations, idiot." The raven haired teenager muttered bitterly, tucking the book beneath his pillow and slouching back amongst the covers, "I'll reiterate my former question, shall I? What's your point?"

The brunette flopped back against the chair and spun around several times, laughing loudly, "Oh my goodness! I never thought I'd see the day where my brother reads a _book_ and watches a _romantic comedy_, without _any_ persuasion of _any_ kind! When Riku hears about this, he'll throw a fit!" He pulled out his phone and began tapping away at it, his laughter still pouring steadily past his lips.

Vanitas jerked himself upright, sending his cat flying off his legs with a loud hiss of annoyance. He turned to face brother and narrowed his eyes into angry slits, "If you even dare send that text…"

Sora's laughs dissolved into a few nervous chuckles and he squinted at him for a long while, his nose scrunching slightly, "Uh…"

**~Half an hour later~**

Sora charged into Vanitas' room, his cheeks flushed bright red and his eyes wide, a mixture of anger and surprise swirling in their crystalline depths.

The older brother merely cocked his head to the side and fixed him with a smirk, "Did you have a nice chat with mom?"

"How could you? You promised me you'd never tell her! Now dad's expecting me to get a job just so I can replace them! And they're cutting my allowance!" Sora whined, falling to his knees beside his twin's bed, hitting his fists uselessly against the mattress, ignoring the hisses the cat aimed in his direction.

Vanitas flicked the brunette's forehead and let out a loud, taunting laugh, "You should have thought twice about sending that text, dearest brother."

Sora grumbled something into the mattress which sounded a lot like the word 'snitch', but Vanitas really couldn't care less. As far as he was concerned, he'd just extracted the cruellest and most satisfying revenge imaginable.

His bravado promptly faded, however, when Sora grabbed the novel from beneath his pillow and all but ripped the cover off. Vanitas let out a yell and grabbed the tattered book from his grasp, "That was a library book, you idiot! Now I'll have to pay for it!"

"I know." The brunette replied victoriously, sticking his tongue out at him before skipping merrily from the room.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,003<br>Date added; 11/01/12_

Not my best, but I quite enjoyed portraying this side of Vanitas- the romantic loving side, that is. But of course, he's still his normal evil self. Sora will get his revenge...one day!

My next theme will be; **'Fears'**

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	17. Fears

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

We have a _toddler-themed_ chapter people! Vanitas & Sora are around 5-6 years old! Nobody likes admitting their fears, especially Vanitas. But it's a good thing Sora's around to cheer him up.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Fears~<strong>

"Vanitas? What are your fears? Would you like to share them with us?" The blonde teacher asked in a patient voice, knowing full well it would take a lot to get something out of the anti-social raven haired child. Currently, he was sat in the corner furthest from the group of kids, his arms folded across his chest defiantly. His younger twin, Sora, was sat just a little to his right; a cheery smile perched on his lips as he turned to face his brother, clearly expecting him to answer the woman's question.

Vanitas' lips turned down into a scowl and he lowered his head to his chest, causing his long, spikey hair to fall into his golden eyes. "I don't have any." He muttered, only just loud enough for her to hear.

The young woman sighed and frowned disapprovingly at him, "Now, now Vanitas. Everybody is afraid of _something_. So tell us, what are you afraid of?" At this, everybody in the room twisted around to face the moody child, their eyes wide and inquisitive. They had all expressed their fears in turn; from as little as a fear of spiders or to a fear of thunder and lightning, but each time the teacher tried asking the infamous Vanitas what his fears were, he would merely scowl and either dodge the question or outright refuse to answer it.

By now, the teacher was getting tired and rather frustrated. She was desperate for a reaction from him and she would get one, no matter how long it took. The kid just needed a gentle push in the right direction. "Come on Vanitas. You can tell us!"

The raven haired child scowled some more and lifted his head, locking gazes with the woman. For somebody so young, he had such an intimidating manner about him and his eyes seemed to stare right into her very soul, as if he were spreading all of her secrets out for the whole world to see.

Slowly, Vanitas let his arms drop back to his sides and he let out an agitated sigh. The teacher leant forwards in her seat out of anticipation. For some reason, she was beginning to think she may just have gotten through to him, and if that were the case, then fantastic! She was genuinely pleased with herself for not giving in so easily, like others would have. He wasn't all that bad a child, he was merely misunderstood.

The small child rose to his feet and glared at the floor by his twin's feet. "I…" He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly, "I fear of being left alone and unloved in the darkness." He lifted his molten gaze to her again and she was shocked to see small tears forming in their depths, "There, happy now?"

She hadn't meant to upset him…

As if noticing the concern in her body language, Vanitas let out a grunt of annoyance and plopped back down in his corner, his arms automatically folding over his chest, glaring down at the floor. He hated feeling so vulnerable. He hated himself for almost crying in front of these imbeciles. Nobody had ever seen him cry, not even Sora, although he used to cry a lot. He hated being different. He hated that people were scared of him. He hated how the teachers constantly patronised him. he was a lot smarter than they gave him credit for.

"Alright!" The teacher suddenly chirped in an awkward tone, "Thank you, Vanitas. Would anybody else like to share?" The young woman glanced around the room as several hands shot up into the air, waving madly for her attention. A particular brunette whom had been staring worriedly back at his brother a minute ago was not all but leaping up and down, clearly desperate to have his say.

And so, against her better judgement, she decided to let the second brother announce his fears, secretly hoping they weren't as dark and saddening as Vanitas'. Mentally preparing herself for the worst, she pointed at the small brunette, "Sora! Would you like to tell us about your fears?" The young woman asked, offering the boy what she hoped to be an encouraging smile. Instantly, all eyes in the room turned on the brunette in question.

Sora seemed entirely unaffected by the sudden intense scrutiny, nodding boldly as he leapt to his feet, smiling almost bashfully out at the rest of the class. He cleared his throat theatrically and clasped his hands behind his back, rocking on his heels slightly, his eyes tightly closed. "My biggestest fear would be to lose my big brother." Sora's eyes snapped open and shifted back to meet his brother's golden gaze, "Vanitas isn't just my big brother…" The brunette paused and started jumping up and down enthusiastically, grinning unabashedly sown at his brother's curious face, "He's my bestest friend ever!"

Sora then reached for Vanitas' hands and tugged him unceremoniously to his feet, before throwing a lazy arm around his shoulder despite the raven haired boy's protests. "Love you, Vani!"

Vanitas' lips quirked up at the corners ever so slightly, but he quickly pushed his beaming brother back before retreating to his corner, grumbling under his breath. He was secretly glad that his brother had said those words, but he'd never admit it.

The brunette was still smiling as he fell back beside him, his hands clasped leisurely behind his unruly spikes. The raven haired child suddenly turned to him and muttered, "You promise you'll never leave me?"

Sora turned his head towards him, his grin widening if it were at all possible, his blue eyes shining merrily back at him, "Never, Vani. Nothing can ever separate us, I promise! We're gonna be brothers and best friends forever, you'll see!"

The teacher smiled a secret, knowing smile whilst listening to their little exchange. By the looks of it, Vanitas' fears wouldn't be coming true anytime soon, if Sora had anything to do with it.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 996<br>Date added; 18/01/12_

I got it up in exactly a week, woohoo! Anyways, I hope you liked it!

I'm not sure what my next theme will be next, but we'll see how things go.

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	18. United

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Music unites us all, even when you're possibly the most antisocial person on the planet.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy nor do I own any songs/bands mentioned in this chapter_

* * *

><p><strong>~United~<strong>

_"Throw it away,_  
><em>Forget yesterday,<em>  
><em>We'll make the great escape,<em>  
><em>We won't hear a word they say,<em>  
><em>They don't know us anyway!"<em>

Sora continued singing and dancing rather badly around his room in a frenzy, his hastily towel-dried hair slapping against his forehead, sending several water droplets down the side of his face, but he was too absorbed in the music to really care. It was an old song, he knew this, but to him it was a timeless classic and one of his all-time favourites. Before this, he used to love jamming to _Busted_, but ever since Vanitas had stolen his CDs and burnt his posters, the brunette had been forced to change artists and had decided to stick with _Boys Like Girls_. So far, his brother had yet to protest, which was more than fine by him.

_"Watch it burn,_  
><em>Let it die,<em>  
><em>Cause we are finally free tonight…"<em>

A giddy grin made its way onto his lips as he threw his arms wide and spun in several large circles, completely unaware of his bedroom door slowly creaking open. Vanitas appeared in the small space he'd created, staring at his brother with a mixture of incredulousness, amusement and utter horror. Although his singing was awful and his dancing wasn't much better, the raven haired teenager had to admit it wasn't the most terrible song he'd ever heard before. In fact he secretly quite liked it. It was better than _Busted_ anyhow. That had been a truly awful couple of months for him. Luckily he had taken action before the obsession grew to a substantial size.

Sora suddenly began to belt out the next part of the song, apparently oblivious to Vanitas' presence, his arms now above his head, his eyes clamped shut as he literally poured his soul into the lyrics.

_"All of the wasted time,_  
><em>The hours that were left behind,<em>  
><em>The answers that we'll never find,<em>  
><em>They don't mean a thing…tonight…"<em>

Vanitas folded his arms over his chest and continued to watch the brunette make a fool out of himself, fascinated by his noticeable enthusiasm, half tempted to join in as he, too, knew the lyrics by heart. He quickly decided against this. If he did, he would certainly never live it down.

"You know," Sora suddenly yelled over the music, his eyes still closed as he twirled towards him. "You could join in! I'll start it from the beginning if you'd like Vani." At this the brunette cracked an eye open and grinned unabashedly at him, seemingly not fazed by the death glare sent his direction at the sound of his chosen nickname for his older brother.

"No." Vanitas growled, his golden eyes closing to avoid unleashing another glare upon his annoying twin, "I'm quite content with watching you make an idiot out of yourself. It's almost amusing."

Sora pouted but chose not to take it to heart, brushing the comment aside with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulder, "Aww, you love it really! Besides, it's the second most played song on your iPod." Before the raven haired teenager could open his mouth to retort, Sora added hurriedly, "I borrowed it last week, so don't try lying to me!"

"You went through my stuff?" Vanitas spat, his golden eyes snapping open and automatically narrowing into a glare, neither denying nor admitting to his brother's claims. "I thought I told you not to do that!"

The brunette grinned and spun on his heel as the song came to an end. "Ah, yes, you did. But you have nothing against me anymore; you've used up all your threats, whereas I'm just getting warmed up." Sora's grin widened, "So don't you deny it!"

The older twin stared at his younger brother for a long time before slapping his forehead and growling something under his breath, making a mental note to find something new to hold against him later, "Fine. Fine! What do you want, Sora?"

"I don't want anything. But do you know what I find _really_ interesting?" The brunette suddenly asked, a sly tone creeping into his voice which almost unnerved the older brother. Normally he was the one talking in that kind of tone.

"What?" Vanitas asked almost warily, his golden eyes narrowing even further in on his brother's normally innocent looking face, searching for any sign of what he was planning to shortly reveal.

Sora leant in towards his twin and whispered in his ear in a now secretive voice, "I discovered that _'Crashed the Wedding'_ by _Busted_ is in your top ten of most played songs on your iPod. So, you got anything to say for yourself?"

Vanitas stiffened and clenched his hands into fists by his sides, silently cursing himself for being so stupid as to leave his stuff just casually lying around and for putting such an accursed song onto his iPod. He just wished it wasn't so catchy! "I will kill you if you ever mention this to anybody outside of these four walls, do you hear me?"

The brunette leapt back and laughed, "Loud and clear, brother! Now…" Sora grabbed his hands, "Sing with me! There's nothing like a good song to get you going. It unites even the most diverse of people and that includes you, Vani."

The raven haired teenager considered his brother for a very long while before, despite the fact it would be going against his better judgement, bowing his head in submission. "Sometimes there's something about you that would almost convince me that you're smart. Pity I know about your idiotic side, otherwise I might just be impressed."

Sora grinned widely at him and pulled Vanitas further into his room, skipping giddily over to the iPod speakers before pressing play, "I guess you've got me all figured out, huh?"

"Not quite yet." The raven haired teenager met Sora's shocked gaze and smirked, "But give me time, brother. I will."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 984<br>Date added; 01/02/12_

I'll get to work on the next chapter as soon as I've finished my coursework that needs to be handed in!

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	19. Ice Cream

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Ice cream; an icy treat shared among friends on a hot day, right? Well, maybe normal people, but not so much with these four...

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Ice Cream~<strong>

Roxas folded his arms behind his head, his sea salt ice cream clamped tightly in between his teeth, watching through narrowed eyes as Vanitas began picking on Ven, yet again. "Does your brother always…I don't know, terrorise people? Last week, Naminé told me that Vanitas tried to kidnap her because he liked her hair and wanted to cut it off. What is with that?"

Sora looked up and shrugged nonchalantly, as if not bothered by his brother's worrying, freakish behaviour. "He was either trying to freak her out or make you jealous. Knowing him, probably both. But in answer to your question? No. he's always got something up his sleeve."

"Yeah, so I've noticed." Roxas muttered sourly, pulling his ice cream from his mouth to flick it in Vanitas' direction, "But seriously, is he not capable of doing something…nice? I know this is Vanitas we're talking about, but surely he has been nice to you, at least?"

The brunette beside him frowned, deep in thought as he gazed down at his uneaten ice cream, trying to recover any memories of Vanitas actually doing something nice for a change. Normally his actions were tinged with sarcasm or hid with some ulterior motive; he never did anything out of the kindness of his heart. "Not really, no…" He finally laughed, folding his free arm behind his head.

The blonde let out a grunt as he stuffed his ice cream back into his mouth, chewing on it absently as he closed his eyes and settled back against the bench.

All of a sudden, Ven let out a squeak of surprise and threw himself at his brother, his arms winding fearfully around his neck, "Roxas! Don't let him hurt me! I didn't mean to, I didn't!"

"Ven! Get off! Get—oooft!" Roxas landed heavily on the concrete, with his ice cream luckily still clenched between his teeth, his brother now on top of him.

Sora let out a small snicker, partly because Roxas had fallen off the bench he had been sitting on, his limbs tangled with those of his younger brother's and partly because his own brother, who was stalking towards them with a furious expression on his face, had sea salt ice cream all over his face, hair and favourite leather jacket. His golden eyes were smouldering and currently fixed on Ven's ice cream which he was waving around whilst trying to untangle himself from his brother's legs. "Ventus. Give me your ice cream. Now!"

"No!" Ven cried, cowering behind Roxas' outstretched hands.

Vanitas let out a low growl and lurched forwards, trying to reach past Roxas' hands. "You made me drop mine and got it all over me! Now give it to me, you idiot!"

"No! I'll buy you a new one!" Ven flailed wildly, his hand knocking against the ice cream stick hanging out of Roxas' mouth, sending it flying towards Vanitas, who instinctively ducked to avoid getting splattered by another ice cream bar.

And then there was silence.

Well, until Sora burst out laughing at the sight of a very peeved looking Roxas.

"You did that on purpose!" The blonde screeched, "Now you can give me yours as a replacement!"

"I think you'll find that ice cream is—" Vanitas plucked the bar from Ven's now limp hands, smirking triumphantly, "Mine."

"No, it's mine." Roxas growled, grabbing a hold of the bottom of the stick before he had time to pull it from his reach.

"Urm…it was kind of my ice cream to begin with, so can I have it back?" Ven asked timidly, reaching up for the ice cream Roxas was struggling to pull from Vanitas' vice like grip.

The two teenagers rounded on him, with glares to match, snapping in unison, "You started this, so no!"

The blonde shrunk away from the two quarrelling boys and glanced pleadingly at Sora who was watching them with clear amusement dancing in his blue eyes. The brunette fixed him with a blank look and shrugged as if to say there was simply nothing he could do before turning back to watch the drama unfold.

Suddenly there was a noticeable splatting sound followed by twin roars of frustration.

There was yet another bar of ice cream smothering the ground and two rather pissed off teenagers glaring down at it. Ven let out a disappointed whimper and let his head fall into his hands.

Vanitas let out a snarl and slapped the back of Roxas' head, "You idiot! What did you do that for?"

The blonde scowled and batted his hands away, "Me? I didn't do anything! You were the one who knocked it out of my hand!"

"Oh really? So it was my fault, huh?" Vanitas spat, his golden eyes swirling with fury.

Roxas scoffed and rolled his eyes, glaring readily at the teenager before him, "Well of course it was! Who else is to—"

"Calm it down guys!" Sora laughed as he rose to his feet, waving his ice cream at the three of them, "Here's how it is— Ven should buy Vanitas a new ice cream since he _was_ the one who started it, Vanitas should buy Roxas one because Ven can't exactly buy two and Roxas should buy one for Ven, because he's the older brother. Then everything's cool, right?"

Unfortunately for Sora, his words fell on deaf ears. All eyes were transfixed on the bar of ice cream he was waving about, nobody paying any attention to his words of 'wisdom'. The brunette soon caught onto what was happening and was quick to retort, "No. No! This one's mine!" He held the ice cream above his head and backed away from the three teenagers as they advanced on him, their eyes focused on the dripping ice cream.

"Oh for goodness sake…" Sora face palmed with his free hand just as he was tackled to the ground by his ravenous friends and overly psychotic brother, all in their attempt to claim his ice cream for their own.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,000<br>Date added; 11/02/12_

This one was quite fun to write. It made me giggle while writing it. Who'd have thought Sora could be the rational one for a change? And Vanitas a whiny brat who lost his ice cream?

So my next drabble could be titled one of three things; '**Father/Son**' or '**Calmness**' or '**Trust**'

Hehehe, until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	20. Calm

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

We all look calm when we're asleep, even Vanitas.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Calm~<strong>

Sora trotted into the living room, humming Spider Pig from the Simpsons Movie under his breath and caught sight of Aqua, Terra, Roxas and Ven all huddled behind a sofa, peeking over the edge with wide eyes. He skipped over to them and plopped himself in between Terra and Ven who both spared him a cynical glance. "Hey guys, what's going on? Why are you all hiding—?"

"Shh!" All four of them hissed, reaching their hands forwards to clamp his mouth shut and push him back down behind the safety of the sofa, before very carefully peering over it again as if worried that they may have disturbed something.

"Urm... Okay." Sora shuffled closer to Terra who was peering at that very same something from behind a cushion. He tried to get a look at what they were all so intently staring at, but Terra pushed his head back with a scathing scowl before he could catch a glimpse. Irritated, Sora quietly asked, "What are you doing?"

"We're watching your brother." Terra replied simply, his eyes remaining fixed upon what Sora now figured to be his brother's form, his face devoid of any emotion.

The brunette blinked and fell back onto his bum, staring weirdly at the four people before him as if they were some brand new alien species whom had jettisoned to Earth and crash landed here, "Okay... Slightly creepy."

"He's asleep," Aqua sighed, fixing him with an incredulous stare as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and it made the creepy staring that much better.

Sora was still immensely confused and he scratched at the back of his head awkwardly, seriously beginning to worry for his friends' mental health, "Uh, yeah...he does that when he's tired...?"

Aqua slapped her forehead, grumbling something under her breath and Roxas cut in for her, his nose wrinkling with a mixture distaste and almost confusion, "He never looks that...calm..."

Ven nodded in agreement, sneaking glances over the top of the sofa every so often as he added, "He's almost always raging on about something or being really pissy for no reason."

"More like; generally being an asshole." Terra snorted monotonously from where he was still sat, his back to the group as he continued to stare unabashedly at Vanitas.

"Uh, we mean no offence to you or anything, Sora. You're the nicer brother after all." Aqua added hastily, slapping Terra's wrist in a reprimanding manner before adding thoughtfully, "But then again...I have to agree with Terra— he is kind of is an asshole."

Terra stiffened and suddenly whipped around, wrapping his arms protectively around her shoulders, his face set in a threatening glare. "If he touches you ever again like he did last weekend, I'll break every bone in his hand."

Aqua blushed and tried to remove herself from his protective, strong arms, "N-no, it's okay Terra, there's no need. I can handle myself."

"You're my girlfriend; you can't expect me to let somebody as insufferable as him get away with something like that." Terra stated firmly, keeping his arms coiled tightly around her slender shoulders.

Sora stared blankly at his friends, a small smile reaching his lips at the sound of Terra's intensely spoken threat and shook his head, deciding to change the subject slightly, "Okay, so he looks calm when he's asleep. Don't we all? That still doesn't make sense as to why you're watching him. It's creepy." His azure eyes suddenly widened considerably as he wailed, "If he knew what you were doing he'd make sure each and every one of you suffer for humiliating him, starting with me for just being here! And I'm his brother! I see him sleep all the time! It's not fair—!"

Both Ven and Terra jumped on top of him as he started to get hysterical at the thought of what his brother could do to him, their hands clamping automatically over his face to stop his incessant howling. Unfortunately, due to the sounds coming from Sora's mouth, nobody heard the rustle of blankets, followed by a sound mixed between a grunt and a yawn or even noticed the mass of messy black hair peeking from over the top of the couch paired with a pair of narrowed golden eyes.

"What in the _hell_ are you doing?" Vanitas spat angrily, rubbing at his temples as if to ward off an oncoming headache as he glared down at the five teenagers crouched suspiciously behind the couch.

Sora let out a squeal of alarm and broke free of Terra and Ven's restraints before moving to scramble away from his angered twin. However, Vanitas merely grabbed the collar of his shirt before he even had chance to scoot behind Roxas and pulled him towards his face, his eyes glinting threateningly, "Shut up, _right now_, Sora."

The brunette nodded furiously and gushed in a comically high pitched voice, "Yes! I will! I'm sorry! I know you were asleep and you're probably very annoyed that I woke—"

The golden eyes teenager smothered a hand over his brother's mouth, his face screwing up into an expression mixed between irritation and boredom. "Didn't I just tell you to _shut_ up?"

His younger brother blinked rapidly and remained silent, his azure eyes widening as he stared up at Vanitas' menacing figure.

Realising that he finally had his attention, Vanitas smirked and leaned in towards his brother, completely ignoring the other teenagers sitting just behind him. "Here's how it is— I'll give you ten seconds to start running before we start playing a good old fashioned game of _Tag_. You _do_ remember how I like to play that game, don't you Sora?"

Sora wrenched himself free of his brother's grasp before turning on his heel and sprinting from the room, screaming the entire house down.

Vanitas' smirk widened into a grin as he leapt to his feet and followed after his brother, leaving the four teenagers still sitting behind the couch to wonder just what the hell was going on.

Ven and Roxas turned to Aqua with their eyebrows raised before Terra cleared his throat and deadpanned, "So, Aqua. You still think he's 'calm'?"

The blue haired maiden scowled and slapped her boyfriend's upper arm grumpily, "Shut up."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,044<br>Date added; 07/03/12_

I'm sorry it's been a while. I had no inspiration whatsoever to finish this and my homework has been piling up like the clappers.

Not sure what will come next, it just depends what I decide to work on!

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	21. Video Games

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

A sorely defeated Sora, bored Vanitas and a competitive video game...

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Video Games~<strong>

"Hell yeah! And you got owned...again!" Riku slammed down his controller and fist pumped furiously, his normally solemn attitude vanishing in an instant as the words 'winner' flashed across his section of the wide flat screen pinned to the wall in front of him. "Face it, Sora— you just can't beat me. I'm too good." The silver haired teenager grinned and leant back into his best friends' swivel chair, folding his arms over his chest triumphantly as he waited for his fellow gamer's moaning fest to begin.

The brunette in question let out a low whine caught between frustration and childish pouting before slumping forwards in his seat, his chocolate spikes comically falling limply into his azure eyes as he released his controller and watched it tumble to the carpet by his feet. "This isn't even fair! I didn't even kill you once, in the entire game... Not even once! You were too busy tearing me apart!" Sora flopped back into his original sitting position before casting a glance over at his brother who was casually lying across the middle of his bed, his hands stroking monotonously at his beloved cat, Precious, who was sprawled lazily across his chest, yawning contentedly. Vanitas himself was staring up at the ceiling above him, apparently fascinated by the grooves and cracks that had accumulated themselves there over the years, not really paying his dreaded cat much attention.

"Don't even think about it." Vanitas muttered, his golden eyes still trained on the yellowed ceiling, his eyebrows creasing into a barely noticeable frown of irritation. "I am not bailing you out this time. Besides," He tilted his head and threw his twin a pointed glare, "I despise video games."

Sora pouted and turned back around in his seat, letting out a huff of annoyance. "You're such a boring brother. I mean, what kind of teenager doesn't play video games?" He turned to Riku, who shrugged offhandedly, toying around with the controller he had retrieved back off the floor, setting up a new game for the two to play.

"A civilised one," The older twin muttered as he momentarily turned his gaze to the cat stretched across his chest when it suddenly pawed at his hand after he'd stopped petting it. He let out a grunt and began scratching at it behind the ears, a small smirk of satisfaction reaching his lips as the cat nestled itself under his chin. "Who wants to play violent video games all day when there's many other interesting things to do. Like sleeping, for instance." Vanitas flicked a hand in Sora's direction in an almost disgusted manner. "Not that you'd know what sleep is, of course. You wake up ridiculously early and go to bed ridiculously late and still skip around like a ball of freaking sunshine. It's sickening. In fact, you're entire attitude in general just makes me want to lock myself in my room and sleep for the remainder of my pitiful life."

The brunette whipped back around and scowled at his older brother, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. "Playing video games is a form of entertainment. It's not uncivilised or boring. Sleeping, however, is. I tell you what; I dare you to try a game out sometime and then you can tell me you didn't enjoy it. If you can beat me then I'll even admit that you were right."

Vanitas retracted his hand from his cat and shooed it away before slowly sitting upright, his golden eyes narrowed competitively. "You're on. And you'll soon see just how wrong you are, brother." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and gestured to Riku who was watching the two with bated breath. "Give me the controller. Watch me completely annihilate his ass."

The silver haired teenager complied and chucked the controller at him before rising from his seat and retreating to the bed where he could easily watch the action unfold.

The older twin caught it easily and smoothly dropped himself into the now vacant seat, staring placidly at the screen before him as Sora quickly selected a short game for the two of them to play. Just before it was due to start, the brunette turned to his brother and raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you even know how to play?"

Vanitas grinned evilly, his gaze fixed on the screen. "No."

Sora held back a grin of his own and turned his attention back to the screen, more than ready to beat his brother at a game he couldn't even play.

Riku merely shook his head and sighed.

**~{*}~**

Two hours thirty five games later, Vanitas had won a massive thirty four matches, while Sora had only just managed to scrape by on the last one by setting a claymore behind him at the last second before he was shot...again.

Sora let out a cry of frustration and threw his controller at the ground before losing his hands in his hair. "What evilness is this? How did you even beat me? I have the experience! I play it day in day out and then you! You, a newcomer, come waltzing in and completely smash me!"

"Thirty four games to one." Riku mused, clearly enjoying his best friend's humiliation. "Just trying to keep things in focus, Sora. You lost pretty heavily, no offence." He quickly closed his mouth when the brunette shot him a scathing glare.

Vanitas draped an arm around the back of his brother's chair, smirking triumphantly. "Walk in the park. It was fun, watching you sink further and further into despair." He casually tossed the controller in Riku's direction before rising from his chair and moving to leave the room, "Let's do this again sometime, brother. I love beating you at your own game."

"I may have lost the battle, but I haven't lost the war!" Sora yelled after Vanitas' retreating form. "You have to admit; for a second there you were actually enjoying yourself."

The golden eyed teenager waved a lazy hand at his twin as he exited the room, "Later losers."

Sora's lips turned up into a grin as he turned back to his best friend whom had reoccupied his seat. "He loved every second of it."

Riku shrugged and selected 'Deathmatch' with a quick few pressing of buttons, "In a cruel, warped and sadistic kind of way, yes. I'm pretty sure he did."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,065<br>Date added; 14/03/12_

Who knows what will be next? Only time will tell...

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	22. Trust

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora trusts Vanitas, but isn't so quick to admit it.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Trust~<strong>

"No way." Sora exclaimed immediately the moment he set eyes on the large, life-threatening roller coaster his brother was planning to drag him onto. "You are seriously crazy if you think I'm even setting foot on that."

Vanitas smirked, grabbing his brother by the collar of his shirt and hauling him towards the massive queue accumulating by its entrance. "We're going. You said you'd go on whatever ride I wanted if I beat you at basketball. Now it's your turn to uphold your end of the bargain, brother."

The brunette let out a low whine of protest, but otherwise let his twin drag him towards what he was utterly convinced to be the ride that would lead him to his death. If he was honest, it certainly looked like it could quite easily end his life should he set foot on it. The closer he got to it, the more he noticed. The track itself was about forty to fifty meters high in the air and had plenty of sickening loops and jaw-dropping twists which made his stomach churn by merely looking at them. At one point, it spiralled even higher into the air before plummeting back down, holding the car which he defiantly proclaimed the wrong way up.

The dark haired teenager ignored his brother's whining and pulled him to the back of the lengthy queue. His golden eyes irritably scanned the backs of the hundreds of people in the queue in front of them and scowled, tapping his fingernails restlessly on the metal railing on either side of them. He never had been very patient to start off with, but this was simply ridiculous. At this rate, they'd be here for hours.

Sora felt caged.

Suddenly, the line started steadily flowing forwards, bringing him even closer to his ever impending doom. He sighted several passengers exiting the ride, with expressions of exhilaration etched across their features; cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling, hair windswept. Unfortunately, not even their obvious joy could qualm his nerves.

He wanted to be sick.

The further they moved, the more Sora found himself wanting to curl in on himself and cry. He hated roller coasters. He was never coming to a theme park again. The only good thing about his situation was that Kairi was with Riku, Xion and the two Strife twins on the other side of the park; hopefully far enough away so she wouldn't hear his screams of terror as he was sent hurtling around a possibly unstable track at a good hundred miles an hour.

That's it. He was doomed.

**~{*}~**

Half an hour later, the two brother's found themselves standing at the very front of the queue, just meters away from the car they would soon be strapped into. Vanitas glanced over at his brother for the first time in a while and noticed the brunette's quivering body and drained, colourless face. He raised an eyebrow and shoved his brother's elbow roughly. "Scared are we, Sora?"

Sora nodded feverishly, barely taking his eyes off the roller coaster before him, "What if it breaks down while we're upside down? What if the tracks snap and we're sent crashing down onto the pavement?" He let out a gasp of horror, clutching his hands to his face, "What if it _never_ stops?"

Vanitas stared at his brother for a long time, before shaking his head and snorting. "You're an idiot, you know that?" He glanced up as the attendant scurried over and allowed them access to the roller coaster, ushering them towards the front seats. "Nothing bad's gonna happen. Jeez. It's been tested time and time again. Get a grip." When the brunette opened his mouth to make another stupid comment, the raven haired teenager smirked bemusedly and asked, "What? Don't you trust me, Sora?"

Sora stared blankly up at his brother, blinking slowly as he muttered, "...Do you really, honestly want me to answer that, Vanitas?"

Vanitas shrugged and grinned sardonically as he eased himself into one of the seats at the very front, "Either way, it's too late to back out now."

Sora blanched, knowing his brother was right before edging warily towards the seat beside his brother. When he finally sat down and was buckled firmly into the chair, he turned to his older brother and whispered, "If we die, I'll kill you."

The golden eyed teenager laughed almost joyously as the roller coaster started up, glancing across at his younger twin and rolling his eyes slightly, "Seriously, quit worrying. It's ruining my mood."

The brunette subtly reached over to his brother and grabbed his hand, ignoring his sneer of distaste. "We won't die, will we? Promise me, Vani? Promise me?"

"Don't you trust me?" Vanitas quizzed a second time, raising a sceptical eyebrow at him, not removing his hand from his twin's insistent grasp, although he could feel his knuckles starting to grind together beneath the skin due to the strain.

After a short pause, while gripping even tighter onto his brother's hand as the ride started moving along the track, Sora whispered shakily, "Of course I do."

Vanitas smirked and discreetly squeezed his twin's hand in return. "Good."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 860<br>Date added; 24/03/12_

And there we go, another update. I'm really enjoying this challenge. ^^

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	23. Playing

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Vanitas never used to join in with his brother's games, but now he's beginning to think that they aren't as bad as he first thought.

The twins are around 5 maybe 6 in this drabble? So, yes, it's a toddler chapter!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Playing~<strong>

"Boys! Come on down, breakfast's ready!" Aerith called up the stairs, pausing by the banister to listen to several cries of acknowledgement before turning on her heel and heading back to the kitchen, a smile crossing her lips.

Despite the fact that three walls and a ceiling separated them, she still heard her husband yell, "Gobble Monster wants to eat Vanitas for breakfast!"

She chuckled lightly, pulling a pack of strawberries from the fridge and placing them on the side, tilting her head back as a high pitched squeal followed by a disapproving moan filled the air followed by several thumps.

Zack slowly hobbled down the stairs, weighed down by Sora who was clinging to one of his legs, wailing up at him. "Let Vani go, Gobble Monster! Don't eat him, please!"

Vanitas, who was bundled beneath one of Zack's arms, wore a rather annoyed scowl, his tiny arms folded across his chest out of defiance. His raven hair fell into his golden eyes as he glanced down at his younger brother and scoffed. "Dad won't eat me. You're being stupid."

"Daddy's been obsessed by the monster! He will eat you!" Sora protested, clawing at his father's pant leg in an attempt to scale his way up to his twin. "But I'll save you before he does, Vani!"

"Possessed." Vanitas corrected, rolling his eyes slightly. "And I can take care of myself. I don't need your help."

Sora stopped scrabbling to stare up at his brother confusedly. "But how, Vanitas? The monster has you prisoner!"

"There is no monster." The boy grumbled, his expression creasing into a disgruntled frown.

Zack stopped at the bottom step and glanced down at his son, grinning, "Doesn't Vanitas want to play the game?" He lifted the raven haired boy in front of his face, his grin widening when he saw the flat glare sent in his direction. "Well, let's see what Mr Tickle Monster can do about that!"

The older twin's golden eyes suddenly widened and he let out a muffled cry as his father's hands descended upon his ribs. Tickling was the one thing which could get past his defences, his only weakness, and Zack knew this. "No!" The boy cried, wriggling and twisting his body away, gritting his teeth to stop himself from laughing. "S-stop! Stop it!"

"Mr Tickle Monster's hurting Vanitas!" Sora gasped, jumping up and grabbing a hold of his dad's belt, hanging comically above the ground. He began swinging his legs back and forth, his tiny feet smacking against Zack's shins, luckily not hurting the man under attack. Vanitas also started kicking up a fuss, pounding his small fists against his father's chest, laughing as he was continuously tickled.

The raven haired man let out a mock cry of pain and stopped tickling Vanitas before allowing himself to fall to the floor, clamping his eyes shut and draping a now pouting Vanitas over his chest. When his young son let out a shout and tried to escape, he cracked open an eye and hissed, "Play dead!"

A sly smile appeared on the older boy's face and he convincingly allowed his body to become limp, his eyes slowly closed and his lips parted slightly.

Zack chuckled and dropped his head back against the carpet. Sora slowly began to crawl up his legs, his small hands gripping onto the hem of his jumper as he hauled himself up onto his chest, instantly shuffling to his brother's side. "Vani! No! Mr Tickle Monster got you!"

The small brunette grabbed his brother's shoulders and shook them roughly, his blue eyes wide with shock. "Wake up!" He wailed. When Vanitas' head flopped back, Sora paused his shaking and grabbed a hold of his brother's unruly spikes and tugged on them sharply.

Vanitas let out a yelp of protest and smacked his brother away, sitting upright on Zack's broad chest and glaring down at his younger brother as he spat, "That hurt, idiot!"

Sora let out a cry of happiness and hurled himself at his older brother, his chubby arms wrapping tightly around his torso, completely ignoring the scornful expression on his twin's face. "Vanitas! You're alive! I thought the monster had got you!" He turned to his father's motionless form and clenched his fist triumphantly. "We showed you, Mr Tickle Monster! Vanitas beat you! He's a hero!"

The raven haired teenager sat rigidly in his brother's tight grasp, smirking slightly at the sound of being dubbed a hero. He wriggled out of Sora's arms and prodded Zack's chest. "Showed you, monster."

Zack's eyes suddenly snapped open and he scooped his son's up into his arms, causing them both to let out yells of protest and wails of surprise, "Oh yeah? Well, the Gobble Monster's back!"

"Oh no!" Sora gasped, twisting away from his father in an attempt to escape. "We need to get away, Vani! He'll eat us!"

Vanitas stared at his brother for a long while, his golden eyes calculating the situation before lowering his gaze and frowning. Normally, he wasn't one for make believe games, but his brother seemed to enjoy them and Zack made them seem fun, so why not join in for once? After a long time of debating, he let out a convincing cry of fear and began writhing around in his father's arms. "Sora! We need to get to mom!"

"The Guardian Angel! Yes!" The brunette replied with exuberance, smiling much too giddily for somebody who was about to be ingested by the evil Gobble Monster.

Zack sat upright, holding the two boys close to his chest as they continue to wriggle, desperately trying to get themselves out of the 'monster's' arms. He let out a chuckle and gently dropped them to the floor, his eyes shining with amusement as they instantly clambered to their feet and broke into a sprint, heading towards the kitchen or as Sora liked to call it; the Guardian Angel's cave.

Vanitas glanced back at his father and a small smile reached his lips. Maybe...his family wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,008<br>Date added; 02/04/12_

A bit of a family orientated/toddler chapter. I quite enjoyed writing it. ^^ I hope you all enjoyed reading it!

I have a rough idea what will be next, thanks to **TheAnnoyingVoice**'s prompt, so until then!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	24. Lonely

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Vanitas is lonely, but he finds it hard to actually admit it. Sora wants to help him, but it's going to take something more than his hyperactive twin to change Vanitas' ways. Something in the form of a particular raven haired girl.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Lonely~<strong>

"Vanitas! Vanitaaaaaas! Hey!"

Vanitas glanced up, his expression showing no emotion as he noticed Sora running towards him, a massive grin on his face "Oh. It's _you_. I should have guessed." He pushed himself off the wall he had been casually leaning against and fixed his brother a disapproving glare, as if that alone would get him to magically disappear off the face of the earth and never bother him again.

Sora pouted in response as he skidded to a halt in front of him, leaning forward on his knees slightly as he fought to catch his breath. He glanced up at his twin through his chocolate bangs and asked breathlessly, "Why are you always alone at lunch? Why don't you come along and sit with us? We wouldn't mind at all."

Vanitas scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "This is why- I can't take you and your constant 'lets-all-be-best-friends' idiocy. I sit alone because I want to. Now go away."

"Come on, you don't mean that." The brunette grinned encouragingly, taking a step closer to the raven haired teenager before him, "Nobody deserves to be alone, not even you!" And with that, Sora slung an arm around Vanitas' shoulder, ruffling his hair slightly, ignoring the growl of annoyance which left his brother's lips.

The teenager stood stiffly in Sora's one armed hug and hissed menacingly past gritted teeth, "Get _off_ me. Right _now_. Or I'll _break_ your hand." He turned his head slightly to glare daggers at his twin, who didn't seem too bothered by his ground out threat.

Instead, Sora began tugging him towards his group of friends, who were sitting almost hesitsntly beneath a tree not too far away, watching the two brother's with wide, cautious eyes. "Aw, c'mon Van! Say hi to everyone!" The brunette waved to his friends, his grin widening. The group of friends waved back uncertainly, their smiles somewhat forced.

Vanitas jerked back, not wanting to go anywhere near them, digging his heels into the ground so they came to an abrupt halt. He tried to shrug off Sora's arm, but it stayed wrapped firmly around his shoulders. This only served to irritate him further as he spat, "I will make your life a living hell if you do not remove your arm from my neck right this instant."

The younger twin pulled back slightly, his cobalt eyes large and round. His expression screwed up into a frown and he gasped, "But brother-!"

Vanitas lifted a hand to silence him, hos expression stony cold, "No. As of this moment I am not your brother. I don't know you, you don't exist."

Sora pulled his brother closer, grinning enthusiastically as he piped, "Aww Vani. You don't mean that. We'll always be brothers for life."

The raven haired teenager shoved Sora away, his golden eyes becoming snake-like slits. "Call me Vani one more time and our relationship won't last that long." Vanitas turned on his heel, meaning to leave, considering the conversation over with.

The young brunette stared after him, his eyes swimming with confusion all but wailing as he grabbed his twin's hand, "Where are you going?"

Vanitas pried his hand away. "Anywhere but here. Your enthusiasm sickens me." He began stalking in the opposite direction to Sora and his merry band of followers, only to have the bubbly brunette bounce along after him, unperturbed. Sometimes, Sora was just as stubborn as he was and it wasn't an attractive trait.

The rest of the group, who had been watching their every movements closely, sat back, shaking their heads simultaneously.

"Their relationship stumps me. I don't get it at all." Kairi muttered, turning her violet-blue gaze to the sky out of exasperation.

"Vanitas stumps me." Naminé piped, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke.

Ven and Roxas both let out surprisingly twin snorts of agreement at this, wordlessly making their opinions known.

"Vanitas I get. I'd be annoyed with Sora if I had him for a brother too. He can be too enthusastic at times." Riku sighed, leaning back on the grass and folding his arms behind his silver head. "It's Sora and his love for his sadistic, evil-incarnate of a twin, I don't get."

Everybody except Xion mumbled in quiet agreement.

After a while of silence, the petite raven haired girl spoke up, her voice soft and unassuming, "I think Vanitas is quite sweet. Not evil at all."

She recoiled, blushing furiously when she found that all eyes were suddenly turned on her. She cleared her throat and played with a loose thread on her skirt, stating boldly, "He's just lonely. He needs somebody to be there for him. Somebody who understands him." She rose confidently to her feet as Sora came jogging towards them, his grin sheepish, "And I'm going to be that person."

Xion took off in the direction Sora had come from, ignoring everybody's looks of confusion and pure shock, her goal set firmly in her mind.

"Where's Xi-Xi headed?" Sora quizzed as he flopped down beside Riku.

The silver haired teenager rolled over onto his side and stared at him flatly, "She's determined to find some good in your twin. I wish her all the best. Because he's a hard one to crack."

The brunette's lips turned up into an almost coy, yet content smile and he folded his arms behind his head, staring up at the bright blue sky with newly restored enthusiasm. The way things were going, Vanitas wouldn't be alone for much longer.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 937<br>Date added; 14/04/12_

Not so much focus on the brother's here. I'll get back to them eventually. Urm...actually, the next chapter doesn't really have as much of the two of them together, but hey.

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	25. Admittance

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

So this will be the only (well okay, depending on how things go) chapter in which Sora isn't physically present. It's also one of my last Vanitas and Xion based drabble. I'll be adding a little Sora and Kairi into the mix from now on.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Admittance~<strong>

Xion was sprawled lazily across Vanitas' bed, casually kicking her feet up into the air as she kept her cobalt blue eyes focused on the raven haired teenager stalking back and forth, cracking his knuckles out of annoyance.

She tilted her head to the side as he continued to pace, his expression sifting between frustration and...loss? Slowly, she rolled onto her back and sat up, cradling her knees to her chest. "What's gotten you so worked up? You still haven't uttered a word to me since you practically dragged me from that home and economics class. What's going on?"

Vanitas' head snapped in her direction and he scowled, ceasing his pacing for a moment. "I am not worked up! I don't need to answer to you."

Xion arched an eyebrow at him, unperturbed by his aggressive behaviour towards her as she swung her legs around so they hung off the side of his bed. "It's about Sora, isn't it?"

"Why would it be about that idiot? I don't care about him." The raven haired teenager spat viciously, curling his hands into fists by his sides. "He's nothing to me."

"Well that's a lie if I ever did hear one." The girl laughed, springing effortlessly to her feet and moving towards him, her eyes staring unabashedly up into his suspicious golden ones.

"And what would you know?" He muttered, unconsciously lowering his voice as she stepped up in front of him.

Xion hummed slightly and forcefully took his hands in hers, uncurling them from their fists, "Enough." Once she'd finished working on his hands, she dropped them and smiled gently up at him. "Now tell me. Is this about Sora? Is it because he went on that camping trip with Roxas and the rest of them, but didn't invite you?"

Vanitas narrowed his eyes into slits and stormed over to his bed, burying his face in his pillow which smelt so strongly of the girl's vanilla perfume. "That doesn't matter to me at all. He's perfectly welcome to do whatever he wants with his pathetic excuse of a life."

He felt the mattress beside him dip down as Xion eased herself onto the bed by his chest. "That's all well and true, but it still affects you. Up until now, I've rarely seen the two of you apart, even if you are constantly arguing when you're actually together, but that's just how it's always been, right?"

"So what if we're never apart?" Vanitas muttered sourly into his pillow, clenching his eyes shut, "That means nothing. I'm just annoyed that– forget it."

"Go on." She encouraged, her hands suddenly finding their way into his hair in an attempt to break through to him, smoothing through the silky strands. She marvelled at the way the spikes seemed to stand up all on their own, without any hair product; it amazed her.

Vanitas let out a muffled moan, silently appreciating her delicate hands brushing through his hair. He tilted his head to the side, squinting up at her, taking in the light red tint on her face and smirking. "Blushing, are we Xion?"

"Don't change the subject!" The raven haired girl mumbled hurriedly, removing her hands from his hair in an attempt to calm her reddened cheeks.

Vanitas caught her wrist, eyeing her calculatingly, his smirk growing. "And who's changing the subject, exactly?"

"You are!" Xion squeaked, trying to tug her wrists free. She paused, staring him directly in the eye, her confidence returning as she boldly stated, "You miss him, don't you? Not having him around to tease, it frustrates you, doesn't it?"

Vanitas released her wrist and let his head fall back onto the pillow, a growl of annoyance passing his lips. What was it with this girl and her constant perseverance to try and get him to admit that yes, he actually did care for his brother, more than he liked to admit and that not having him around was oddly distracting. It was as though the world had been ripped from beneath his feet and he was left to drift in a surreal, barren abyss he knew nothing about.

It had only been a couple of days, but it felt like years and he would have to endure a whole two weeks without that obnoxious smiling face of his, with only his darn dog as a reminder that yes, he actually did exist.

Life had sunk to a whole new level of hell, from his perspective anyway.

"Yeah. I do." He finally muttered, the defeat crystal clear in his voice. "I miss my brother."

"He'll be back before you know it." Xion whispered softly, smiling calmly to herself as she resumed combing her hands through his hair. Her first, miniature goal was complete. He'd finally admitted something he normally considered humiliating. This was a big step, considering all of the things she had planned for him.

Vanitas rolled onto his side and leered at her almost curiously. "Why did you stay behind anyway? You were invited too, if I recall."

"Somebody had to look after you." She stated calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to claim to.

"I'm surrounded by a bunch of selfless idiots." The teenager grunted, flopping back onto his stomach without another word.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 882<br>Date added; 03/05/12_

Okay, so it's been a while since my last update and I'm sorry! This one took a while. I didn't really know where to go with it, but it worked out in the end.

The next one will involve some jealousy on Sora's part.

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	26. Differences

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora...jealous of...Vanitas?

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Differences~<strong>

Despite their similarities, they were different in so many ways. For one, Vanitas was an exceptional basketball player, while Sora could boast that he was able to shoot the odd hoop at times. Vanitas could chat up any girl, beat up any bully and didn't give a damn about what anybody thought. Sora grew nervous about even thinking of girls, couldn't lay a finger on a fly and cared deeply what other's thought of him.

In many ways, the brunette felt flawed, as though he'd inherited the faulty genes.

Sora stared almost enviously at his brother's form as he zipped around the basketball court, his feet a miraculous blur as he danced away from Roxas, bouncing the ball effortlessly in his left hand. The raven haired teenager smirked, most likely taunting the blonde before snapping into action. Completely disregarding their defence, Vanitas leapt high into the air and chucked the ball directly at the net. The distinct swishing sound filled the air followed by Vanitas' trainers slapping back down onto the concrete. Roxas, Ven and Riku all stared at the golden eyed boy, in a state of shock.

The teenager grinned and wiped at the sweat beading across his forehead with a towel before jogging over to the edge of the courts and picked up his water bottle, pouring half of its contents over his head.

Sora felt himself scowling and turned away, shoving his headphones back into his ears without a word. He shifted his cast covered leg, tapping his finger against his thigh in time with the beat blasting into his ears.

He felt left out, not being able to play with the boys like he usually did. Ever since he'd broken his leg by falling down a crevice between two sheer cliff faces while out trekking, he'd been left confined to a bench or his room while everybody else played out. Kairi would visit with Riku whenever he was cooped up inside, but most of the time the girl's were out shopping, or watching films at the cinema and the boys were out playing blitz ball, or attending Struggle practise.

It was during this time that he began to realise just how...perfect his brother was. Now that he was the one sat on the sidelines, watching his brother play basketball or laze about the house on weekends, he noticed the little things which stood out.

Despite the fact that they shared the same face and were of the same age, they both acted completely different. Sora was bubbly, happy-go-lucky, generally a people pleaser who loved to be around others. Vanitas was a moody, lone-wolf, evil incarnate who loved nothing more to terrorise those who were happy. And yet, it was as though he was the one people wanted to be with.

He was an enigma people constantly wanted to try and solve, not to mention he was devilishly handsome and had all of the girl's attention. They loved a bad boy, or so he was told.

How was it that Vanitas, who had the exact same face as him, was deemed 'hotter' than he was? Was it the devil-may-care attitude? The scathing looks he gave people when passing them in the hall?

What was it that Vanitas had but Sora didn't?

The brunette was suddenly aware of somebody roughly slapping him around the side of the head and his earphones being ripped out, leaving them to dangle uselessly around his neck. Sora glanced up and noticed his brother's infuriated expression as he stood menacingly over him. "Sorry, what?" The brunette blurted, his face blank.

Vanitas' eyebrows knitted into an annoyed frown and he growled, "I said: pack your bags, idiot. We're leaving."

"Why? Did you tire the guys out already?" Sora replied, his tone taking on that same whine as always. He frowned. That was something that was different. Vanitas didn't whine, or beg, or plead. He demanded and normally got what he wanted. He had a powerful, dominating presence that people either revelled in, or shrank away from. He was feared and respected.

Vanitas' lips turned up into a cocky grin and he folded his arms over his chest. "I guess you could say that." He glanced over his shoulder at the retreating trio and smirked, "The losers couldn't keep up with me. I won 10 hoops to none. Pretty sweet."

Sora's frown deepened and he glanced away, murmuring softly, "Yeah. Pretty sweet."

"What's wrong with you? Where's your sickening enthusiasm?" The elder twin snapped, slapping him again, his eyes narrowing. "You've been like this ever since I found you at the bottom of that cliff."

Yeah, Vanitas had saved him that day and everybody seemed to think he was a hero now, because of it.

Sora shook his head and muttered, "Nothing's wrong with me. I'm just taking a break from being me. Is that so bad?"

"Normally I'd say no. But it's creeping me out. I want that 'it's-all-sunshine-and-rainbows' of a brother back." The raven haired teenager stared down at his unresponsive twin before letting out an exasperated sigh and raking a hand through his wet hair. "Are you even listening?"

"I heard you." Sora replied quietly, "You want the old me back. Well I don't feel like it. So deal with it."

"Well, whatever's gotten you all 'doom and gloom' you better snap out of it right now." Vanitas spat, draping the towel he had in his hands around his neck.

"Why do you even care?" The brunette asked bitterly, reaching for the crutches which lay abandoned by his feet.

Vanitas snatched them up before he could, forcing him to meet his unrelenting golden gaze, "Because you're my brother. Whatever affects you, affects me. So snap out of it, idiot, before you make me look soft."

Sora felt his trademark grin appearing on his lips and lunged for his crutches, wincing when he placed a little too much weight on his bad leg. "I always knew you cared, Vani. Xion is a good influence on you. She should hang around you more often."

The raven haired teenager grabbed his brother by the cuff of his shirt and pulled him close, "Just because you have a broken leg doesn't mean I won't hurt you if you utter another word to do with her."

Unbothered by his brother's threats, Sora shrugged Vanitas' hands away and started limping towards the park exit. "Yeah, yeah. We'll see, Van, we'll see."

In some ways, despite their differences, they were exactly alike. And Sora didn't mind.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,087<em>  
><em>Date added; 1305/12_

I actually enjoyed writing this. Exploring Sora's jealous streak was fun. xD

My next drabble will include some Sora/Kairi! Hehe!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	27. Embarrassed

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

I think this might be my first official Sora/Kairi drabble. Heh. I thought it was quite cute, but I'll let you decide!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Embarrassed~<strong>

"I c-c-can't!" Sora wailed, twisting a fistful of Vanitas' shirt in his hand as his brother led him towards the group of giggling girls. "I won't do this. You can't make me!"

The older twin glanced over at him and snorted, tugging him along with him. "I can't make you? Since when have I ever let you back down from a bet?" He fixed the cowering brunette with a glare; his golden eyes shining dangerously the more Sora resisted him. "I told you. If I kissed Xion, you had to ask Kairi out. Do it, before I cause you serious injury."

"But Xion didn't give you consent! You just walked up to her, kissed her and walked off again. You didn't even wait for the verdict!" Sora protested, digging his heels into the dirt beneath their feet in an attempt to slow his brother's advances. "Let me go! I won't do it!"

Vanitas wheeled around on him and raised an eyebrow at his terrified expression. "I knew that you'd be too chicken." He snorted and shook his head, releasing the brunette from his grip. "Tch."

"I am not chicken!" Sora gasped indignantly, "I just don't want to do it, okay? Can we go home now? I've already made myself look like an idiot."

"And whose fault is that?" The dark haired teenager mused. "Whatever. Seeing as you're too much of a chicken-wuss to speak up to a _girl_ about your feelings, I guess we have no other choice." Vanitas shrugged and sighed dramatically. "We'll just have to go home."

The brunette gaped at his brother, "Well, hold on a second. I never said—"

Vanitas waved him off and started pulling him away from the group of girls who still hadn't noticed their presence. "It's fine, Sora. I get it. You're frightened of Kairi. It's completely understandable. I mean, look at her— she's hideous."

"Kairi is **NOT** hideous!" Sora growled, shoving his brother away with a quick elbow to the stomach. "She's a wonderful, beautiful, amazing person! How you can ever call somebody as flawless as her hideous is completely beyond me." The brunette puffed out his chest, placing his fists on his hips. "You know what? I'm gonna talk to her. And then we'll see who the smug one is."

The older twin watched on in obvious amusement as his younger brother turned on his heel and stalked towards the group of girls, his chin raised defiantly.

He found himself wondering how long it would take for him to come on running back.

**~{*}~**

Needless to say, Sora was bricking it. He had no idea what to say to her, or even how to get her attention. It was times like these that he wished they didn't run around in small packs; it made his life a lot harder.

Armed with his last slither of bravery, which was slowly slipping from his grasp, he stepped up beside the girls and cleared his throat noisily.

The group of girls fell silent and slowly turned on the brunette, their eyes full of curiosity.

Sora swallowed heavily before lifting his cerulean orbs to the piercing stares of the teenagers before him. After a quick scan of the crowd, it seemed as though Kairi was nowhere to be seen, but he could hardly back down now. "Uh, I need to s-speak to Kairi. Do any of you know where I might find her?"

Before any of them had time to reply, there was a flash of red as a young teenager came running up to the group, brandishing several sticks of blue ice cream. "Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, but I brought ice cream to make up—" The girl swivelled round on her heel and gasped, her lips breaking out into a grin. "Sora! Hey, what are you doing here?"

"He said he wants to speak with you. Alone." Xion giggled, taking the armful of popsicles from Kairi's grasp.

Olette came up behind the redhead and gave her a healthy shove in the brunette's direction. "You two have a nice chat, now!"

Kairi and Sora stood facing each other, their cheeks ablaze as the girls dispersed, giggling and laughing to themselves, waving over their shoulders at the pair.

Sora was the first to react, scratching at the back of his head nervously as he murmured, "Hey, urm...I was wondering..."

"Yes...?" Kairi pressed, leaning in towards him and clasping her hands behind her back.

"Well— heh, I..." The brunette trailed off, tugging embarrassedly at his collar.

"Yes?" The redhead giggled, tilting her head to the side to stare up at him better.

He yanked on one of his spikes and squeezed his eyes shut before letting the words tumble out of his mouth in a mad rush "D-do...can I ask you something?"

Kairi laughed lightly, her violet eyes crinkling at the corners, "Yes, of course you can!"

"Urm, well... Okay, here's how it is; I really like you. I think you're amazing and brilliant and beautiful...I always have, I've just been too scared to admit it. I would love it... No— would you like to go to the movies...with me...tomorrow night?" He instantly dipped his head, his face heating up with the embarrassment.

The redhead stared at him for a long time, surveying his scarlet face with a growing grin. She stepped closer to him and reached a hand up to cup the side of his face. When he glanced up, his eyes widening with shock, she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

When she pulled back, Sora was grinning giddily, his eyes sparkling. "Should I take that as a...yes?"

In response, Kairi tugged his face down to hers and kissed him again, this time on the mouth, smiling against his lips. "Yes."

**~{*}~**

After a long time of simply talking to one another, Sora finally made his way back over to where Vanitas was still waiting, leaving Kairi to start up a squeal fest with her girlfriends.

Vanitas turned on his heel and fell into step beside him, his arms folded triumphantly over his chest. "Don't you wish you'd listened to me sooner?"

"Shut up." Sora replied in a dreamy voice, a far away, almost goofy expression plastered across his reddened face.

Vanitas rolled his eyes and snorted.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,054<em>  
><em>Date added; 2305/12_

The next chapter will be a baby/toddler one! I've had it written up for weeks now... xD

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	28. Shoelaces

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora can't tie his shoelaces and decides to ask Vanitas for help.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Shoelaces~<strong>

Sora watched on as Vanitas skilfully tied a neat double knot in his brand new shoes, flicking the laces back with a flourish of his hands as he completed it in a perfect bow.

The dark haired toddler sat back and smirked at his achievement, folding his hands confidently in his lap. "Done, mommy." He declared, pointing to his tied shoelaces with a cocky tilt of his chin.

Aerith knelt down beside her older son and smiled softly, reaching a hand up to ruffle his raven spikes. "Well done, Vani. You're getting really good at that. When daddy comes home, you can show him too."

"Where is daddy?" Sora frowned, still feeling particularly down about not being able to tie his own shoelaces to the standard his older brother achieved in less than three tries. In his eyes, Vanitas was a god, but that didn't mean he didn't get annoyed at him sometimes.

Their mother sat back on her heels and regarded the two with a sad smile. "Daddy's gone to work. He'll be back in a couple of weeks, you'll see." She rose quickly and gracefully to her feet and patted both boys on the head, ignoring Vanitas' mutters of protest, before disappearing into the kitchen to collected up the rest of the picnic she had prepared earlier.

The young brunette shrugged. Although he missed his daddy very much, he always came home when mommy said he would. Not wanting to give up so easily, he went back to trying to tie his shoelaces as perfectly as his brother. He wanted to impress his daddy, too.

After creating several large knots in the laces which he couldn't undo, he let out a distressed wail and flopped forwards, pouting lightly. "Why can't I tie my shoelaces like Vani can? It's not fair! He's so good!"

Vanitas grinned, folding his arms over his chest in a triumphant manner as he regarded his younger brother. "I'm just better than you." He pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone.

Aerith peeked around the doorframe and laughed. "Keep practising, Sora. You'll get there. Ask your brother if he'll help you."

Sora instantly swivelled around and clasped his hands together, "Vani! Teach me how to tie laces!" He pushed his lower lip out in a pleasing pout and widened his blue eyes into the all too familiar puppy-dog expression he often displayed.

Vanitas scowled at him and pushed him away, twisting away from the brunette and grumbling, "No!"

"Why not? Vani! Please!" Sora begged, dropping to his knees by the dark haired toddler's feet, widening his eyes even further.

"Because I said so." Vanitas declared, turning his face away. When Sora started tugging on his arm, the toddler shot the brunette a disgusted look and shook him off. "Ew, I said no!"

"Mommy!" The brunette wailed, on the verge of tears as Vanitas pushed him hard enough for him to fall back onto his bum.

Aerith reappeared in the doorway, her face morphing into a scolding expression as she noticed her younger son sprawled across the floor, his lower lip wobbling dangerously. "Vanitas Zachary Fair! What have I told you about pushing your brother over? Apologise and teach him how to tie his laces properly, young man."

Vanitas sulked for a moment, dropping his chin to his chest, before shuffling closer to his fallen brother and sticking his hand out impatiently. "Give me your shoe."

Sora scooted around and stuck his foot into Vanitas' outstretched hand, giggling when the golden eyed boy made a disgusted sound under his breath.

With a heavy sigh, Vanitas quickly untangled the knots and presented the laces to his brother. "Alright. First, you loop this lace underneath the other one. Pull the ends away from each other. Are you watching?" Sora nodded enthusiastically and his older brother rolled his eyes. "Good. Because I'm not doing this twice. Next, create a circle, like this, then wind the other lace around the bottom of it. This is the tricky bit. You sort of...thread it through here...and loop it like this... There! See?" Vanitas pulled back to admire his handiwork.

Sora stared down at his shoe as if it were a magical item he'd never come across ever before in his life. "Do it again!" He cried, "Show me on my other shoe! Please, Vani!"

The older twin glared at his brother for a long time before groaning begrudgingly and grabbing a hold of Sora's other foot. "Watch closely..."

Their mother watched on from the doorway, a light smile flitting across her lips. "They certainly are a pair..."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 764<em>  
><em>Date added; 0306/12_

I loved this. Baby/toddler chapters are my thing. xD

So, until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	29. Vacation

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Admittedly, not one of my favourites, but it was fun to write all the same.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Vacation~<strong>

It was that time of the year when the sun was almost always shining, when friends would meet up on week days or parents would take their family to some wild holiday location for two weeks to escape the normalities they were usually confined to.

The Fair's were slightly different.

Zack liked to say that they were more a 'traditional' family and therefore they would take part in more 'traditional' activities, meaning they never went on extravagant, expensive holidays. Instead, the two young adults would take the two boys on a coastal walk and then on down to the beach for what they liked to call some 'quality family time'. Sora found it hard to believe that they could call any family with a teenager like Vanitas, who was the spawn of the _devil _himself, traditional.

The moment they had arrived on the beach and set up the sun loungers and parasols, his parents had stripped down to their swimwear and dashed off towards the sea, leaving their two baffled sons on the sand. Neither of them particularly minded. Vanitas never showed any interest in their activities and Sora couldn't exactly disagree with his disinterest this year. He would have preferred to stay in bed all day, playing on his new game and he was pretty sure Vanitas wouldn't have minded taking a long nap or watching several romantic comedies until they returned home.

Sora was currently sprawled across one of the four sun loungers they had dragged down, in the comfortable, cool shade of the parasol, partnered with a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose as he stared down at the phone in his hands, waiting for Kairi to respond to his text.

He knew Vanitas was somewhere to his left, stripped down to a pair of swimming shorts, soaking up the sun while his head was stuck in a particularly sadistic novel he'd convinced Zack to buy him last weekend. The raven haired teenager neither seemed to notice or acknowledge his brother's presence until he realised that the brunette wouldn't be clearing off like he usually did. He put his book down and peeked at Sora over the top of his glasses, muttering sourly, "You're not joining them?"

Sora didn't even glance up from his phone as he replied bluntly, "And miss out on a chance to text Kairi?" He chuckled lightly. "Not a chance."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow and flopped back against the sun lounger. "Hmph. Suit yourself."

This time, Sora looked up, a perplexed expression reaching his face, "Why? Wanted time to yourself?"

"No. The company's good." Vanitas grunted, throwing an arm over his bare chest in an attempt to get more comfortable, his book forgotten.

The brunette dropped his phone into his lap and sat up, reaching a hand across to ruffle his brother's hair with a grin. "Aww! I always knew you were a—!"

His brother tore his sunglasses off, batted his hands away with a quick slap and fixed him with a death glare, "Don't say it. If you truly value your life, you'll keep your mouth _shut_."

Undeterred, Sora merely sat back, still grinning. "Alright, Van. Whatever you say." He glanced down as his phone buzzed and let out a soft squeal, responding to Kairi's long-winded text almost immediately.

Meanwhile, Aerith managed to stop Zack from splashing her long enough to get her bearings. She noticed that the two teenagers were still sitting on land and frowned, before calling out to them, "Boys, why don't you join us? You can't sit there all day! You'll get sunburn!"

Zack turned around and grinned, waving a hand in their direction, "Yeah, c'mon you two lazy lumps. The water's great!"

Neither Sora nor Vanitas glanced up as they replied in the same monotonous voice, simultaneously, "No thanks."

The two adults looked over at each other and shrugged, before resuming their childish water fight.

**~{*}~**

When Kairi finally stopped texting him, Sora looked up for the first time in hours and blinked at the sight of the slowly setting sun, "It's getting late."

Vanitas closed the book he had finished reading and snorted, raking an absentminded hand through his choppy hair, "Nice one, genius. How _ever _did you figure that out?"

The brunette ignored his brother's comment and frowned at the two adults still swimming around in the ocean, "When are they gonna get out?"

The older twin yawned nonchalantly and stretched his arms above his head, "It'll be hours yet. You know what they're like. You used to be just like them."

For a while, Sora remained quiet, before kicking his legs off the side of his sun lounger and calling to his brother, "Say, want some ice cream to pass the time?"

Vanitas glanced across at him and smirked amusedly. He had been about to ask him the exact same question, although he was planning on letting Sora retrieve it. "Sure."

He watched on as Sora nodded and sprung to his feet before trekking towards the ice cream parlour at the edge of the beach, his arms swinging loosely by his sides. Not that he would ever tell Sora, but it had made a nice change to spend the day in his brother's company without arguing.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 874<em>  
><em>Date added; 1306/12_

My next drabble will entail Sora seeking some brotherly advice from Vanitas. I just need to add some description, so it'll be up in ten days!

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	30. Advice

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora seeks his brother's valuable advice on girls. Or, more specifically, one girl in particular.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Advice~<strong>

Sora padded cautiously into his brother's room, a perplexed expression perched on his face. "Say... Vanitas?"

His older twin was lying motionlessly on his bed with his arms thrown lazily across his face. He tilted his head slightly as indication that he had heard his younger brother, but made no other attempt to move.

The brunette took it as a sign to venture further in and timidly sat down on the edge of Vanitas' bed, shooting a silent glare at the sleeping Precious curled up on the swivel chair he usually liked to occupy. It was thanks to that darn cat that Barnaby had been sent to the vet last week. Vanitas claimed that Precious had acted of her own accord, but Sora was certain that he had egged the cat into scratching his beloved dog.

"Well?" Vanitas muttered impatiently from behind his hands.

"Oh! Uh, what do you–no... Should I–hmm..." Sora frowned, tugging at one of his spikes as a light blush crept across his cheeks at his own inability to speak. Some might ask why it was that he found it so hard to speak to his own brother, but that was merely because Vanitas would literally rip his throat out if he so much as hinted at something he didn't approve of. That was as good a reason as any, he figured.

"What are you stammering about?" The boy lying down snapped, reluctantly pushing himself up onto his elbows to glare at his younger brother. "Out with it."

Steeling his nerves, Sora squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his hands into fists and squeaked intelligibly, "I wanna... Y'know, ask Kairi...to go out... To be my... Well, you know..."

"What?" Vanitas asked sharply, raising a slanted, annoyed eyebrow at his twin. "This may shock you, but when you mumble in that high pitched voice I seriously struggle to distinguish you from that yelping dog of yours and Seifer when I kicked him in the–"

The brunette scowled and stated boldly, "I want to ask Kairi to be my girlfriend! But I'm too scared! Okay?"

...And let the teasing commence.

"You've come to tell me this...because?" The raven haired twin drawled, his nose wrinkling out of annoyance. "Are you kidding? You want to ask a girl out? But you're too scared to do it? That's just pathetic."

Sora tapped his chin thoughtfully and pursed his lips together to hide the smile of triumph as he replied innocently, "What about Xion? You got me to ask her out for you, or did you forget about that?"

"What's the point behind this time-wasting conversation exactly?" Vanitas mumbled, hiding a blush of his own.

"I don't know how to ask Kairi out. I–I thought that you might know...seeing as you're always claiming to know more about girls than me." Sora stammered, twisting a fistful of his shirt in both hands.

"You idiot." Vanitas groaned, flopping back against the covers agitatedly.

"What...?" The brunette asked slowly, cocking his head to the side. As far as he was aware, he hadn't done anything to deserve being called an idiot. He swore Vanitas just did it for kicks.

"Just go for it already." His brother sighed, settling himself into a more desirable position before interlocking his hands behind his head.

"Really?" Sora gasped, his eyes shining with obvious awe. He resisted the urge to start hopping from foot to foot. The majority of the time, Sora took his brother's word for law. The rest of the time...well, he didn't really want to repeat what words came out of his brother's mouth.

Vanitas' face morphed into a blank expression as he stared at the brunette. "Yes."

Sora's nose crinkled, more out of confusion than anything else. "But... What you said..."

"Oh come on." Vanitas growled exasperatedly, cutting his brother off mid-sentence. He pulled himself back into a sitting position. "Tell me this; how long have you two been...friends?"

"Since we were five." Sora grumbled, dipping his head to avoid Vanitas' piercing gaze. Sometimes his brother could be a royal pain in the butt. How was pointing out the obvious going to solve anything? He didn't think that reiterating this already well-known piece of information would help him in asking Kairi to be his girlfriend...

The older twin flicked Sora's nose to regain his undivided attention. "Exactly. Man up already. And seeing as you have your answer, you can get out. I'd like to resume my nap in peace."

Despite the stinging pain in his nose, the brunette threw his arms around Vanitas' neck and squeezed him tightly. "You're the best Vani."

"I know. Now get off me." Vanitas muttered bluntly, shoving the younger boy away with his elbow.

"Right. Sorry." Sora laughed, scratching at the back of his neck shyly. "But seriously, you give the best advice sometimes." He grabbed his brother in yet another hug, beaming into his unruly hair. "You're awesome."

"I-i-idiot." Vanitas mumbled while half-heartedly returning the hug Sora was forcing upon him. He simply didn't have the energy to reject him and his exuberance.

Sora, in the meanwhile, had no plans of letting go of his brother any time soon.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 861<br>Date added; 23/06/12_

Expect a baby drabble from me next time and a strangely sentimental Vani. Again, I just need to type it up and we're good to go.

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	31. Fall

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Sora and Vanitas go tree climbing. Needless to say things don't go as planned.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Fall~<strong>

Vanitas and Sora stood at the foot of the tall pine tree nestled at the back of their garden and stared up into its branches. The raven haired tot wore a rather determined smirk on his face, while his younger brother trembled with obvious fear.

"Are you sure Vani? What if we fall?" Sora whispered fearfully, automatically grasping a handful of his brother's shirt.

Vanitas promptly shrugged him off. "We won't, idiot. Now c'mon. Let's climb." The older of the two moved closer to the trunk and reached up to grab a hold of a low hanging branch. He pulled himself up before turning to his brother and offering him a hand. "Well? Are you coming or what?"

"A-alright." Sora murmured, accepting his outstretched hand and allowing Vanitas to pull him off the ground. When he reached the branch his brother was siting confidently on, he scooted closer to the trunk and hugged it, his blue eyes widening.

"Let's go higher." Vanitas ordered boldly, pushing his brother aside so he could swing himself up onto the next branch.

Sora watched his twin clamber up even higher into the dense branches, his hands trembling as he tried to follow him. "A-are you sure Vani?"

Vanitas glanced down at him and scoffed, clamping his tiny hand around Sora's before hauling him up beside him. "Of course I'm sure! Don't be a wimp."

"O-o-okay..." The young brunette gasped, clutching at the branch now underneath his fingers for dear life. He looked up and saw that Vanitas was at least three meters above him already.

"Keep up!" His twin called, letting out a sharp cackle of amusement as Sora suddenly squealed and flopped against a rather thin stump of a branch.

It wasn't until the branch let out a low groan of protest did Vanitas stop laughing and stare down at his brother's stiff form, his expression morphing into one of shock.

There was a sudden distinct cracking sound and the branch shuddered, dipping beneath Sora's weight. The brunette tilted his head back and called out to his brother, "Vani! Vani! Help!"

Vanitas swung down onto a lower stump and threw a hand out to the shivering brunette, "Stop moving! You'll snap the branch!"

"I'm scared..." Sora whispered, his azure eyes widening to the size of golf balls as the branch careened even further forwards.

"I know. Just hold on!" Vanitas searched the expanse of their large garden and caught sight of Zack exiting the greenhouse, holding a pile of tomatoes in his arms. "Zack!" The boy screamed. "Zack! Help!"

The man glanced up, his eyes locking on Vanitas' waving arms before travelling down to land on Sora, who was now hanging off the edge of the branch, sobbing.

"Sora!" Zack threw the tomatoes aside and sprinted to the foot of the tree, opening his arms wide. "Don't move buddy, it's alright, I'm here." He pulled himself up onto the first branch and reached towards his younger son who's grip started to slip.

"Sora! Hold on!" Vanitas yelled, scrambling down until he was hanging on the branch just above his brother.

"I c-can't! Vani! Don't let me fall!" The brunette wailed, reaching up for Vanitas who strained towards him in return. Suddenly, Sora's grip failed entirely and he fell off the side of the branch and into Zack's awaiting arms with a cry.

"Gotcha!" The man cried triumphantly. He cradled Sora against his chest before glancing up at his older son and held an arm out. Vanitas gratefully slipped down and hugged Zack's shoulder until they returned to solid ground.

The boy wriggled himself out of his father's arms and dropped down beside a severely shell-shocked Sora. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again!" He punched Sora's shoulder once. Twice. Three times. _"Ever!"_

Zack tried to pull Vanitas away from Sora, "Hey, come on now, champ. Don't hit him. He's already upset-"

The older twin pushed his father away roughly and feebly punched at Sora's arm again. "He could have died! And it would have been my fault. What would I have done then? I would be left all alone...and you promised not to leave me! It would have been all my fault..." He let his head fall against his chest, his fist still pressed against the brunette's shoulder.

"Don't cry Vani." Sora mumbled, placing a hand on Vanitas' shoulder, even though he shrugged it off.

"I'm...not crying." Vanitas muttered, avoiding his brother's insistent gaze as several tears leaked from his golden eyes and trickled down his cheeks.

"I love you Van." Sora whispered as he wrapped his arms around his brother's neck.

"I...l-love you too, Sora." The boy replied as he half-heartedly returned the hug, burying his face in Sora's t-shirt.

Zack merely stared at his two boys as they clutched at one another, trembling. He placed his arms around them both and held them close. "C'mon, let's go and make you some hot chocolate. Sound good?"

The two boys blinked and stared up at their father with their strangely different coloured eyes and twin expectant expressions. "Okay," They mumbled simultaneously.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 849<br>Date added; 04/07/12_

Hehe, yeah, probably not what you were expecting. Vanitas admitted his love for Sora! D'aww! I thought it was cute, if not a little dramatic. But lately, I've been really into drama. xD

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	32. Dare

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

After losing a bet that he would win three consecutive races on Mario Kart, Vanitas has to complete a dare.

Mentioned Terra/Aqua! Ven and Roxas, appear as well! About time, too. xD

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Dare~<strong>

"Ha! In your face! I totally owned you!" Roxas held his hands above his head, laughing gleefully as the TV screen before them displayed his victory.

Vanitas threw down his controller and flew to his feet. "I refuse to believe this! You must have cheated. There's no way that you beat me with that cheap shot. I was seconds away from crossing the line!"

Roxas turned to the smouldering teenager and grinned, reaching up to prod him in the chest. "Face it. I beat you, fair and square. It looks to me like you just got wiped out."

Sora, who was sat beside his brother on a stray beanbag, tapped Vanitas' leg in an attempt to calm him down, "Don't worry Vani, it's only a—"

Vanitas wheeled around on the brunette, silencing him with a lethal glare. "Don't you dare say that it's 'only a game'. This is a matter of manly pride! Tch. Not like you'd know what that means."

Sora settled back against his beanbag, clearly confused by his brother's words, while Ven leapt to his feet and chuckled, "Well! Now that drama's over, I guess we better think of a dare."

Roxas dropped his controller onto the chair he'd recently vacated and wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder. "Agreed. C'mon Ven." He paused to glance over at the defeated teenager an raised an eyebrow. "Don't go chickening out on our bet, now, Vanitas."

Vanitas merely glared at the two blondes as they retreated from his bedroom, heads pressed together as they likely discussed his fate. He waited until he heard enter his brother's room before kicking his chair over in a surge of anger. "Darn it!"

"Calm down, Van. You might have lost the race, but you can still complete whatever dare they come up with and prove them wrong, right?" Sora asked timidly from where he sat, as he tried once again to comfort his brother's bruised ego.

"That's not the point. He beat me." The raven haired teenager growled as he sunk down onto his bed, his hands bunching into fists. "It's humiliating!"

"C'mon. He's beaten you how many times? Once, maybe twice? And how many times have you beaten him? Personally, I lost count past twenty." The brunette declared boldly, aiming a light punch on his brother's arm. "You've already proved that you're better than him at most things. But you can't be amazing at everything. So, chill."

Vanitas stared down at his younger brother with his wide, golden eyes for a long while before throwing his head back and letting out a loud, brash laugh. "Hell. You almost had me convinced for a second there."

Sora grinned, folding his arms behind his head in a satisfied manner, "I'm getting better at that, huh?"

Whatever Vanitas was going to say in response was cut off as the two blondes reappeared in the doorway. Ven looked a little reluctant, while Roxas seemed rather smug about something as he crossed the room and dropped a piece of paper into Vanitas' lap. "Read it."

Vanitas scowled and plucked the piece of paper from his lap and opened it, his lip curling into a distasteful grimace. His narrowed golden eyes scanned the messy scrawl before glancing up to meet Roxas' expectant gaze. "Really? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Just do it, or suffer the consequences." The blonde replied in an offhanded manner, his arms crossing automatically over his chest.

Sora shuffled closer to his brother, worried about the dare and what it could possibly entail. "What is it, Van?"

The raven haired teenager shoved the piece of paper into his brother's hands without taking his eyes off the smug blonde standing over him. "I'll do it. This is one I can definitely enjoy."

Roxas' face split into a triumphant smile. "Great! Off you go then."

"What? Now?" Vanitas asked incredulously, his right eye twitching out of annoyance. "They're probably in the middle of a freaking make out session, you really want to me to walk in on the middle of that?"

"Well, yeah. Now is as good a time as any." The blonde shrugged as he tried to fight down a laugh.

"Fine." Vanitas spat through gritted teeth. He rose to his feet and stalked from the room just as Sora finally managed to decipher Roxas' scrawl.

"Oh jeez. What have you done?" The brunette whispered fearfully. "Ven, are you seriously okay with this? They're both your best friends."

"Yeah, well, it was either her or Kairi and I figured you didn't want to have another fall out with your twin." Ven muttered sourly, his expression dejected.

Sora kept his mouth shut. To have Vanitas kiss Aqua while she was going out with Terra was bad enough, but Kairi?

Either way, it wasn't going to end well for his brother.

All of a sudden, Terra's enraged voice echoed throughout the whole house, "You little bugger! What in the hell do you think you're doing? Get away from my girlfriend!"

"He actually did it..." Roxas whispered, his expression one of awe.

"He's got guts, I'll give him that." Ven added, his expression equally as awestruck as his brother's.

"No, he just doesn't like Terra." Sora groaned as he shot towards the door, meaning to defuse the situation before it got any worse.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 888<br>Date added; 17/07/12_

I can't imagine Vanitas ever getting on well with Terra. And I can imagine him having no problem with hitting on Aqua, despite her being unavailable.

I quite like this one, mainly because I've got Roxas and Ven back in there. :3

Next time I shall give you a semi-serious drabble based on a personal experience.

**~AusisWinds-13**


	33. Accident

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Vanitas is hit by a car and is rushed to hospital. A hysterical Sora visits his brother.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Accident~<strong>

_"He's in room 138, on the second floor, at the end of the ward. You can't miss it."_

With those words in mind, Sora hurried down the long, sterile hallway of the hospital, refraining from flinching whenever he caught sight of patients bandaged from head to foot or the machinery that others were mercilessly hooked up to in order to keep them alive.

He hated hospitals. If it were up to him, he wouldn't even be here, but when he'd heard that his own brother had been admitted earlier that morning, there was no way he could get out of it.

After having an argument with their dad earlier that morning, Vanitas bunked off school and was incidentally hit by a car while crossing a busy road. Of course, he'd been in an extremely foul mood, was wearing headphones and hadn't been looking where he was going, so he didn't realise what was about to happen until it was too late.

By the time he reached room 113, Sora was a nervous wreck on the verge of hysterics. What was waiting for him on the other side of the door? What would Vanitas look like? How bad was it?

Unable to take it any longer, Sora slammed the door open and strode into the room, his hands shaking with fear.

The first thing he noticed was how clean and airy the room looked. The second was that there was an incessant beeping reaching his ears.

Vanitas...

He looked across at the bed and let out a gasp. Vanitas was slumped unconsious against the pillows, a bandage wrapped firmly around his head. One of his arms was trapped inside a cast, while the other lay limply beside his body. Bruises littered his face as well as a few scrapes on his cheeks and forehead. The worst of it was his eyes. They were ringed with dark circles, which stood out against his exceptionally pale skin, making him look like something out of a horror movie.

He hated seeing his brother like this. This frail, pathetic looking Vanitas wasn't the strong, sarcastic twin he knew and loved. Whoever it was lying in that hospital bed, it wasn't his Vani.

The brunette walked towards the bed, his movements jerky and robotic. He sunk down into a chair beside Vanitas' bed and dropped his head into his hands. "You just had to get yourself hurt, didn't you? You're always harping on at me about being responsible and yet, here you are, lying in a hospital bed." He whispered harshly, his eyes stinging with unshed tears. "For once, it was you. Why couldn't it have been me instead?"

Suddenly, Sora felt a hand clamp around his wrist. The boy glanced up sharply, his cerulean eyes wide.

Vanitas was leaning towards him as he glared across at the brunette with his haunting golden eyes. "You idiot. Don't...ever wish...that." The older boy rasped, his grip tightening as his lips twisted into a pained grimace. "Better me...than you."

"Vanitas... Save your strength!" Sora gasped, shuffling closer to his brother.

"Don't need...to rest..." The older boy grimaced before releasing the brunette and falling back against the covers with a grunt. "I've done...enough resting."

Had Sora not been so upset, he might have laughed. That sentence summed Vanitas up in one— stubborn to a fault.

"No, Vanitas. You need to sleep." Sora whispered as he watched his brother struggle weakly against him as he pushed him back down on the mattress. "You're really hurt."

"N-no..." The raven teen hissed angrily, "I won't."

"Fine. But at least lie down." The brunette offered quietly, averting his eyes from his twin's injuries. This was the worst kind of torture; not being able to take his pain away or help him when he needed it most.

The two of them lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, before the younger of the two piped up again, his voice barely a whisper, "I'm sorry this happened to you, Van..."

Vanitas remained quiet for a long time, his expression blank as he stared up at the ceiling above him. When he spoke, he sounded exhausted, as though all of the life had been sucked from him, "Will you stop worrying? I'll be okay."

Sora surged forwards and wrapped his arms around his brother's torso. "I know." He mumbled. "You always are."

"You idiot." Vanitas sighed, returning the hug with one arm.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 733<br>Date added; 24/07/12_

I have a baby!Sora/baby!Kairi drabble for you coming up next after I get back from my holiday in two weeks' time! :3

**~AusisWinds-13**


	34. Lost

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

After first moving from Radiant Garden to Destiny Islands, Sora gets lost and meets Kairi for the first time.

Admittedly, Kairi is the one who came to Destiny Islands from Radiant Garden, not Sora, but for the sake of this being AU, I decided to make it so. Enjoy!

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Lost~<strong>

Sora was lost.

He waddled down the boardwalk he'd recently discovered, his eyes wide with fear. He glanced around the beach spread out before him and trembled, unsure as what to do.

He was hungry, he had no idea where he was and his parents were nowhere to be seen.

The last thing he remembered before wandering off on his own was his mother telling him not to go too far down the road, while his father carried a sleeping Vanitas into their new house. The only thing was, he hadn't listened to his mom and he had gotten himself lost within a few minutes of walking around the strange new town.

He was alone and afraid, with no idea where to go or what to do.

What if he got washed away by the tide? What if he never found his parents again?

Then another dreadful thought hit him; what would Vanitas do when he found out he was missing? He wouldn't be happy. He'd get mad at him and call him an idiot.

Stupid Vanitas...

"Hello boy." A loud voice chirped.

Sora wheeled around and came face to face with a young girl with short red hair. He blinked twice, confused by her bright smile and strange greeting. Where had she come from?

"Are you lost?" The little girl continued as she clasped her hands behind her back and rocked forwards on her toes.

The brunette remained silent, his expression wary. If he said yes then would she make fun of him?

"You don't talk much, huh?" The redhead laughed, removing her hands from behind her back as she took a step closer to him.

"Mommy told me not to talk to strangers." Sora mumbled, kicking at the sand by his feet, his cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

The little girl laughed again and waved a dismissive hand at him, "Aw, that's okay. My mom says that to me all the time. I just don't listen." The girl paused and tapped her chin. "Say... Wanna play with me and my friend? We actually need an extra person."

The brunette gulped and twisted the hem of his shirt in his fists. "I..."

The girl grabbed his wrist and began tugging him further down the beach, her expression excited. "C'mon! It'll be fun!"

"O-okay..." Sora gulped. He had no choice but to follow her.

The redhead ran up towards a silver haired boy knelt in front of a rather large, impressive looking sandcastle, while lugging the confused brunette along behind her, "Hey Riku! I found another person to play with us! He can be the dragon!"

The boy, whose name was apparently Riku, glanced over at the nearing figures and stood. He brushed the sand off his shorts with a flick of his wrist, his eyes focused on the two before him. "Hmm... What's your name?" He asked quietly, his expression unreadable.

Sora twiddled his thumbs together awkwardly and took a step towards the older boy, smiling slightly, "I'm Sora..."

The silver haired boy gave him a once over before returning the smile, albeit half-heartedly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Riku."

The girl who had lead Sora over, skipped forwards and flung an arm around Riku's shoulder, her smile widening, "And I'm Kairi!"

Riku staggered under the sudden increase in weight but quickly righted himself. He shot the girl a strange look and shook his head before turning back to the brunette. "Would you like to play with us, Sora? We need somebody to be the dragon. I'm the knight."

"And I'm the princess!" The girl piped, her violet-blue eyes shining.

"If that's okay..." Sora mumbled quietly as he peeked up at the two through his hair, ignoring the girl's statement.

"Sure it is! We have lots of friends who play with us. You can be our friend, too!" Kairi grinned and skipped over to him, automatically taking his hand in her own as she turned back to the older boy for approval, "Right, Riku?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Sure, if he wants." He tipped his head pointedly in Sora's direction.

The brunette could barely contain his excitement as he bounced up and down, tugging on Kairi's hand which was still clutching at him. "Yeah! Let's be friends!"

He stuck his palm out in front of Riku's face, grinning from ear to ear. Hesitantly, the older boy reached forwards and accepted his hand with a small smile of his own.

"Come on boys! Let's play dragons and princesses!" Kairi giggle excitedly as she scrambled towards the sandcastle. "And Sora, you're the dragon. You've got to stop Riku from trying to save me!"

Sora laughed and followed the two friends enthusiastically, his eyes shining with the prospect of a brand new adventure.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 793<br>Date added; 10/08/12_

I know Sora wouldn't normally act like that, but if he's lost and alone, I expect any kid would be a little frightened if some random person came up to them and asked them to play. But hey, that's just me.

I hope you liked it!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	35. Bath

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Vanitas doesn't like baths. Sora does. Zack's confused.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Bath~<strong>

Vanitas was sat on the carpet in his room, going through a box of Sora's favourite crayons, calmly breaking them in half when Zack suddenly came sweeping into room. He spread his arms wide and declared loudly, "It's bath time!"

The boy didn't even glance up as he snapped another red crayon before tossing it into a nearby pile. "No."

"Aw c'mon, kiddo. It's only a bath." Zack laughed as he knelt down beside his son, glancing between the crayons and his face. It wasn't the first time the boy had decided to take up an extra-curricular activity that involved upsetting his younger brother in some way. He'd given up trying to stop him— Vanitas never listened to him anyway.

As if to prove his point, Vanitas snapped a blue crayon in half and flicked it at his father, who dodged the low flying projectile with ease. "I hate baths."

"Why not? Sora doesn't mind baths. He has fun!" The man pointed out triumphantly with a winning smile.

"That's because he's stupid." The toddler replied dryly. He dropped the black crayon onto the carpet, still intact. It was his favourite colour and he needed a new black crayon after all.

"Don't call your brother stupid, Vanitas." Zack muttered harshly, his voice taking on a warning tone.

Vanitas snorted and tossed the yellow crayon into his steadily growing pile. "I will because he— Hey!"

His father had quickly scooped him up into his arms before he had chance to finish his sentence and was holding him firmly under his arm. "Gotcha." He grinned and tapped the toddler's nose teasingly as he strode into the bathroom adjacent to his room. "Bet you thought you could get away, huh?"

"Put me down!" The boy glared up at his father and began squirming in his grip, putting up as much resistance as a four year old could muster. "Put me down now!"

Zack couldn't help but grin as he watched his young son attempt and fail to escape. "Now? Are you sure?"

"Yes! Down! Down now!" Vanitas growled as he aimed a punch at his father's shoulder, only to find himself swinging at empty air.

"Okay, Vani. Whatever you say..." The raven haired man sighed and held his son out at arm's length, lowering him towards the bath which they were now standing over. Sora, who was sat contentedly in the bottom while playing with a bright yellow rubber duck, glanced up as his brother's feet came into view and let out a high pitched giggle.

He reached up towards his brother's toes and called out joyfully, "Vani! Are you having a bath, too?"

"No!" Much to Zack's amusement, Vanitas somehow managed to pull himself up and wrap his legs around his arm, putting as much distance between him and the water as humanely possible. "No, you idiot! Not in the bath! Stop!"

"No?" The man raised an amused eyebrow at his son and lifted him back over to the safety of dry ground. "Then what do you want? You want a hug?"

Vanitas momentarily ceased his struggles and peered up at the man holding him with narrowed eyes. "If I say yes, do I still have to have a bath?"

His father raised a confused eyebrow and stared down at his son, his expression unreadable, "Yes...?"

The boy pointed at the floor beneath them and scowled, his tone demanding, "Down."

Zack sighed and gently placed his son on the tiles. "Okay, okay. We'll try again tomorrow, eh champ?"

Vanitas shot him a droll stare and sprinted out of the bathroom and disappeared around the corner before the man could get another word in edge ways.

"Daddy! I want to get out now!" Sora called gleefully from the bathtub, his hair and face smothered with bubbles as he sat with his arms above his head, waiting for his father to come over and lift him out.

"Alright. Coming kid." Zack picked up a towel and lifted his son into his arms, wrapping him in the fluffy material. "Don't suppose you can teach Vanitas to like baths, hmm?"

Sora blinked up at him innocently, not quite sure what his father was asking of him. "Vani doesn't like baths...?"

"No, Sora." Zack chuckled as he brought his youngest son close to his chest. "He doesn't."

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 719<br>Date added; 18/08/12_

Hope you guys liked it!

Not sure what's next...probably a teen!Sora & Vanitas drabble.

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	36. Blame

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

When Sora's iPod goes missing, he instantly suspects his brother. But is Vanitas _really_ the culprit?

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Blame~<strong>

He searched his wardrobe. He looked beneath his bed. He checked the chest of draws. He scrutinised every nook and cranny of his room and yet his iPod was nowhere to be found.

Sora flopped down on his overturned mattress and sighed, frustrated with the lack of results from his search. Where in the world could it have gotten to? It wasn't like it could suddenly grow legs, get up and walk off...right?

"Typical. I just downloaded like, forty songs onto it." The brunette grumbled, his lips forming an automatic pout. "That's just unfair. Why me?"

"Did you know that talking to yourself can be seen as one of the first signs of insanity?" A dark voice questioned sarcastically from his doorway.

"Go away, Vanitas." Sora replied grumpily, pulling himself back into a sitting position so he could glare across at his brother's smirking face. "I'm not in the mood for your games today."

"What's gotten your panties in a twist?" Vanitas snorted as he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. He observed his brother's dejected expression and frowned. It wasn't often that something managed to get Sora down. It had to be pretty bad if it had broken through his optimistic, sickeningly innocent disposition.

The brunette threw his hands above his head despairingly and groaned, "It's my iPod! I don't know where it is! And I've checked everywhere!" He suddenly looked hopeful as he clambered to his feet and pointed at his twin, "I don't suppose you've seen it anywhere, have you?"

Apparently dissatisfied by his brother's answer, Vanitas pushed himself away from the doorframe, his expression blank. "Nope." He tapped his chin and smirked suddenly, "Perhaps this will serve as a life lesson for you; take better care of your stuff."

"Don't patronise me!" Sora mumbled sourly, following after his twin as he headed out onto the landing. "Besides, for all I know, you could have been the one to steal it and hide it from me!"

"Yeah. Right." The dark haired teen grunted, glancing over his shoulder to shoot his twin a dry stare. "Like I'd want to steal that crappy old thing of yours when I have a perfectly good one of my own."

"I wouldn't put it past you! You live to make my life a misery!" The brunette argued bitterly.

"Are you two arguing again, boys?"

Sora and Vanitas instantly turned towards the source of the voice, the former breaking out into a smile, while the latter wrinkled his nose out of annoyance. Aerith stood at the top of the stairs, her hand lingering on the banister as she stared at the two of them, her expression concerned.

"No. Sora just misplaced his stupid iPod." Vanitas explained coldly, pointedly shoving past his brother to get to the bathroom. "And he's accusing me of hiding it. Again."

"Knowing you, you probably did hide it!" Sora protested angrily, elbowing his twin in the guy as he walked by. "Again!"

"I didn't hide it the first time, idiot. You left it round Riku's. Remember?" The older boy snapped, subtly rubbing at his stomach where Sora's elbow had landed.

The brunette's face instantly flushed and he looked away, embarrassed. He might as well have walked straight into that one. "Oh... Yeah..." He hated it when his brother was right, which was most of the time, like now for instance. "Well, whatever. It'll turn up eventually..." He scratched at the back of his head and slipped back into his own room just as Vanitas slammed the bathroom door behind him without another word on the matter.

The whole while, Aerith stood frozen in the same spot, her expression radiating guilt. She hadn't told her youngest son, but she had accidentally pushed his iPod into the water-filled sink this morning after he'd left it lying around, as usual. Needless to say, it had been ruined and refused to even turn on, so Aerith had been forced to set it aside until she saved up enough money to get it repaired. She hadn't known that he would miss it so soon.

"Oh dear... This has gotten out of hand." The young woman whispered.

She would tell her son, in time, maybe after she got it fixed for him, but for now she was content with him not knowing.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 722<br>Date added; 16/09/12_

After all of that...it was his mother who took his iPod. xD

I'm pretty busy with school lately, which is why this one took so long. The next one won't be up until I figure out a prompt. :3

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	37. Leaving

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

When Zack leaves suddenly, 7 year old Sora and Vanitas decide to follow.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Leaving~<strong>

Vanitas was scribbling away in Sora's favourite colouring book when the small brunette suddenly tottered into the room and dropped to the floor. He crawled over to his bed and wriggled beneath it with a low grunt, leaving nothing but the tips of his toes on show.

Curious, Vanitas dropped his black crayon and leaned forwards on his elbows, watching on as his younger twin pulled out his Mickey Mouse backpack and began stuffing his Heartless plushy into it. "What are you doing?" He asked, frowning as Sora started cramming several of his colouring pencils into one of the side pockets.

The younger boy sniffed, wiping at his face with his sleeve as he mumbled quietly, "I'm leaving."

Vanitas sat up and folded his arms over his chest, narrowing his golden eyes. "I see. Where are you leaving to?"

Sora straightened up, hugging the now filled backpack to his chest defiantly, his lower lip trembling. He sucked in a deep breath and declared boldly, "I'm going to wherever daddy went."

The older boy tapped his chin, his expression thoughtful, "So...to Radiant Garden."

The brunette's eyes widened suddenly, his voice hopeful, "Is that where daddy is?"

"Yes dumbass." Vanitas muttered, rolling his eyes at his own twin's stupidity. "That's where he's doing his soldier training."

"Then that's where I'm going, too!" Sora cried happily, bouncing up and down in his excitement.

His brother shook his head disbelievingly and let out a derisive snort. "And how will you get there?"

The boy pursed his lips for a moment before laughing and throwing his fist towards the ceiling, "I'll take Riku's rowing boat! He'll forgive me, he's my best friend."

Vanitas frowned disapprovingly at the boy. "You're going to row all the way to Radiant Garden...by yourself...in the middle of the day? You'll drown or get heatstroke." He grinned suddenly at the prospect of having a room all to himself. "Maybe both."

Sora wasn't deterred. He stomped his foot and pouted. "I'll take the train instead."

"You don't have money for the tickets." Vanitas pointed out with a flick of his hand.

And still, the brunette's determined smile never left his face as he spoke, "I'll take mommy's car!"

"You won't be able to reach the pedals. You're too short." The older brother countered flatly, his face blank.

Sora was beginning to get flustered. His eyes started to water and his lower lip started trembling again, but he wasn't giving up. "Then...I'll...I'll walk!"

Vanitas was on his feet, rummaging around in one of his bedside drawers. He tilted his head back and laughed incredulously over his shoulder, "Over a few hundred miles? You won't make it one."

The brunette stomped his foot and let out a loud wail, "Shut up Vani! I want to find daddy!" He started stamping towards the door, several tears spilling down his cheeks, but he was quick to wipe them away with the back of his hand. "I'm going and you can't stop me!"

"You're not going..." Vanitas pulled a jar from one of the drawers, shaking it tauntingly as his brother took a step over the threshold to the room they shared. "At least, not alone."

Sora whipped around, his eyes wide and excited. "You mean you'll—?"

Vanitas sighed heavily, showing the jar filled with copper coins to his brother. "Yes. Now shut up and lets go. We can take the train. I have some pocket money left." He scoffed suddenly, his lips curling into a slight smirk, "You were stupid and spent it all on sweets."

Sora dropped his backpack and threw himself at his older brother, his arms wrapping tightly around the boy's torso. He rubbed his cheek against Vanitas' shoulder, laughing joyously, "I love you Vani!"

The older boy pushed his brother back, his nose wrinkling with disgust, "Stop. _Hugging._ Me."

Thankfully, Sora quickly let go, still grinning. "Okay!" He hurried over to where he'd dumped his rucksack and slung it over his shoulders. "Now let's go!"

**~{*}~**

When Aerith finally caught up to them, they were just about to board the half past three train to Radiant Garden. She grabbed them by the wrists and hauled them away from the platform, her green eyes brimming with tears. She had been genuinely worried that she had lost the two for good, but when her neighbour told her that he had seen the two boys waddle into the train station not long ago, she had hurried over immediately.

She led the boys to a bench and sat them down, her hands still shaking over the fact that she had nearly just lost both of her children. "What do you two think you're doing? You can't just hop on a random train like that. I thought I told you not to come here! It's dangerous! You could get seriously hurt!"

"We just wanted to see dad..."

Aerith stared down at Vanitas, surprised. Her eldest son rarely called Zack 'dad' and when he did, he was normally quick to correct himself. It were as though Zack's name had been hard wired into that little brain of his at birth, as it had been among the first few words he had spoken, other than 'idiot' and 'stupid', so of course, it had stuck. To hear him call his father by the name 'dad' was both shocking, but nice, too. It also reminded her that her own husband spent more time away in the army than he did in their home town. There were days when she felt like she wouldn't be able to cope with his absence, but then Sora and Vanitas would come waddling into the kitchen, bickering about something silly and her worries would vanish in a second. Her two sons made the times when her husband left bearable and magically filled the massive void where Zack usually stood.

With a small smile, she reached out for their tiny hands and whispered warmly, "Daddy will be home soon, I promise." Her smile widened slightly when the two boys slipped their hands into hers and slipped down from the bench. "Now c'mon boys, what do you say to some ice cream before we head back?"

Vanitas shrugged dismissively, while Sora bounced on his toes, grinning widely up at his mother, "Yes please!"

Aerith chuckled lightly and began to lead the two young boys away from the train station, pausing only to glance back wistfully, wishing Zack was with her.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,073<em>  
><em>Date added; 2010/12_

Sorry it took so long! My updates are all over the place of late. I tried to make it longer to accommodate for my absence.

I thought this one was quite sweet. I really like writing Sora and Vanitas as little kids. I could quite happily write an entire series of drabbles as them as babies hehehe.

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	38. Bandmates

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Vanitas decides to start a band. Sora's sceptical.

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Bandmates~<strong>

Sora was attempting for the fifth time that afternoon to finish his Biology homework which was due in the very next day. Several times Barnaby had come scampering over to him, whining and pawing at the ground, all but begging him to come outside and play, only to have the brunette brush the poor dog away. He had to get it finished — he promised Kairi that he would actually get a C this year. It didn't help that she was constantly breathing down his neck about it, but he dealt with it. Vanitas said it was because he was 'whipped' and naturally Sora strongly disagreed.

He was currently sprawled across the living room floor with pillows dotted around him to provide comfort while his brother lay across one of the nearby coaches, staring up at the ceiling, having already completed his homework quite a while ago. A few times he had suggested Sora copy his work, but the brunette had refused. For once, he wanted to actually get a grade for himself. Besides, Kairi would get suspicious if he suddenly came out on top with an A grade.

He was about to start the last question, much to his relief, when Vanitas suddenly threw the TV's remote control at his head. Sora let out a shrill squeak and rubbed furiously at a bump which was now forming at the base of his skull before turning to glare up at his older brother. "What was that for? I haven't even done anything!"

Instead of answering his indignant question, Vanitas cracked his knuckles and rolled onto his side. He propped himself up on his elbow and stared down at his younger twin, his expression serious. "Let's start a band."

"Huh?" Sora blurted, having to do a double take when his brother's expression remained the same. He blinked, carefully scrutinising the teenager's face. He was joking, right?

"Let's start a band." Vanitas repeated through gritted teeth with a roll of his eyes, his annoyance towards the brunette as clear as day.

Confused, the younger brother sat up, grabbing one of the pillows to hug to his chest. He continued to stare at his brother, his nose wrinkling. There were times when he felt like he really didn't know his brother at all. This just happened to be one of them. "But why would we start a band?"

The raven haired teenager shot him a scornful glare, as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. When Sora continued to stare at him, dumbfounded, Vanitas let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled onto his belly, flicking through the magazine he had discarded earlier. In a mocking tone, he muttered, "Because we can, idiot."

"You… You're actually serious." The brunette stated bluntly, his lively blue eyes becoming large and unimaginably round.

Vanitas resisted the urge to groan and began reading, his vibrant eyes flitting between the words and the picture displayed on the opposite page. When he spoke again, his voice was flat and bored, "I'm always serious."

Sora's mouth opened and closed for a moment as he tried to process the information. Last he checked, Vanitas hated boy bands. He claimed they were the scum of the earth, with the sole purpose of appeasing several hundred thousand hormonal, rabid teenage girls to make tonnes of money and now, all of a sudden, he wanted to make one. Still in a state of shock, he murmured numbly, "There are only two of us."

Vanitas scoffed and discarded his magazine. "So? You can play the drums. I can play guitar and sing, too. Who else do we need but each other?" He suddenly looked over at the stunned brunette and raised a single, immaculate eyebrow at him, his expression cold and deadly, "Unless you have any _better_ suggestions?"

The idea of being stuck in a band with nobody but his brother whom he could very well imagine whacking him over the head with his guitar on multiple — if not often — occasions didn't come across as overly appealing to the brunette. He racked his brain. How could he get _out_ of this? Or, better yet; who could he drag _into_ this? He suddenly grinned. They would probably hate him forever, but they would live.

Still grinning, he chirped happily, "Roxas is a good bass player, too. Ven is amazing at the piano. Kairi, Xion and Naminé could be backing singers." He pursed his lips and added, "Plus, we'll need somewhere to practice and Kairi's house is the only place with a garage big enough for all of the equipment."

The expression on Vanitas' face was priceless. He looked as though he was torn between tearing Sora's head from his shoulders and curling up in a ball to sulk. Finally, he spat agitatedly, "Fine. Whatever. They can join too, if they must." Much to Sora's surprise, his anger disappeared rather quickly and a sly smirk stole its way across his lips, "At least it'll give me more time to mess around with Xion."

The brunette fought down the urge to sigh and scratched at the side of his neck. "You know," He began slowly, "She'll dump you if you keep pissing her off."

The smirk on Vanitas' face was replaced by a mild expression of surprise and triumph. He shoved a finger under Sora's nose, grinning suddenly, "_You_ just cussed."

"And _you_ must be rubbing off on me." Sora muttered, swatting his brother's hand away with a slight scowl. He hated letting Vanitas win.

Vanitas snorted rather unattractively, still smirking smugly to himself as he fell back onto the coach, his arms folded over his chest. "Well it's about bloody time."

After a lengthy amount of time drowning in the heavy silence which had settled between them, Sora leaned forwards, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, "So we're really doing this?"

"Yep." Vanitas replied instantly, obnoxiously adding a pop to the 'P'.

"Great." Sora forced out through gritted teeth as he fell back amongst the pillows and his Biology homework, not caring whether or not the papers flew everywhere upon impact.

"Oh lighten up." Vanitas teased sarcastically, "It'll be fun."

In response, Sora grumbled something unintelligible.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,029<em>  
><em>Date added; 0101/13_

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sorry I've been gone for so long! I've been pretty busy these last couple of months; exams, revising, learning a brand new subject and finishing off my first multi-chaptered fic. But now I'm back and I have some time on my hands!

I hope you all liked it.

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	39. Broken

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Broken~<strong>

Sora wasn't sure what happened, or how it happened, he just knew that Vanitas was crying and he was hurt.

Vanitas _never_ cried and he _never_ showed vulnerability, at least not around him. He was always so strong and mighty, fuelled by sarcasm and harsh insults, compelling all those around him with his charming good looks and intriguing allure. He never once let his emotions get the better of him and he never once broke down.

Until now.

Sora found him after returning from Struggle practice with Roxas and Ven. He was tired, exhausted and in need of ice cream, so his natural reaction was to head towards the kitchen, expecting to find his mother readying dinner for that evening or his father reading the newspaper with his silly spectacles on. What he didn't expect, however, was to find his brother crumpled on the floor, surrounded by several broken plates and glasses, his palms and feet bleeding.

His first reaction was to scream and call for the police, but luckily his instincts kicked in and he rushed to his brother's side, brushing aside the broken fragments with his discarded jacket. He grabbed Vanitas' shoulders and flipped him over, half expecting him to be unconscious, only to be met with a pair of watery golden eyes.

Sora swallowed the lump which had formed in his throat and managed to whisper, "V-Vanitas? What's wrong?" When his brother remained unresponsive, he glanced around the carnage littering the kitchen floor, his face paling. "Did you...did you do this?"

"Yeah."

The brunette flinched, almost dropping his twin. He wasn't used to hearing his brother's voice sound like that. He was so used to the sarcastic filled comments, the bored tones, the mocking quips, but not the empty, vulnerable voice which had left Vanitas' mouth.

Unable to look at the teenager propped up in his arms Sora focused his attention on the red tinged floor by Vanitas' limp hands. "What happened...?"

"Nothing." Vanitas replied bluntly.

"Nothing?" The brunette demanded, gesturing to the mess surrounding them, feeling a mind-numbing anger growing in the pit of his stomach. "You call this _nothing_? Mom and dad will freak if—"

"Don't." Vanitas muttered hoarsely, one of his bloody hands grabbing a hold of one of Sora's wrists. In an imploring tone, he added softly, "Don't let them see."

Sora didn't know what to say, or what to do, or how to react. This boy lying on the floor wasn't his brother, or at least, he wasn't the boy he knew. He didn't know what to make of it — what had happened to make Vanitas flip out and destroy half their kitchen? What had broken him like this?

"Sora." Vanitas' voice was louder this time, sounding more like his old self again. He glanced down at his twin, his blue eyes wide. "You can't let them see this."

"What do you expect me to do?" Sora asked quietly, quickly tearing his gaze away from Vanitas' fierce stare. He didn't like this at all. He couldn't understand what was going on. Something had wounded his brother deeply enough to make him shatter, to literally break him in two, but what?

All of a sudden, his brother pushed him away and started to get to his feet, his legs shaky. Glass and pieces of polished clay fell away from his hair and side, clattering against the tiled flooring. Sora was immediately on his feet, holding his arm out for support, should Vanitas need it. Surprisingly, he didn't. Somehow he managed to right himself, leaning heavily on his left leg, one hand thrown out towards the sink. He finally turned towards his younger brother, his golden eyes dark, "Help me clean up. Then I'll sort myself out before they get back."

The brunette blinked at the order and opened his mouth, "But I—"

"Just do it, okay?" Vanitas ground out, clenching his eyes shut, his face scrunching up with obvious pain. "Don't make me ask again. I won't say _please_."

He felt trapped. He had two choices — he could help Vanitas, or tell his parents that he went bat-shit crazy and ruined the kitchen. It was a no-brainer. Above all else, his twin came first. Sora crossed over to where the dustpan and brush was usually kept and held it up, his smile rueful. "I wouldn't dream of it."

For once, when Vanitas smiled faintly in return, it wasn't tinged with malice or sarcasm. For once, it was a genuine smile. And that alone was enough to frighten him.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 757<em>  
><em>Date added; 0701/13_

What happened to Vanitas? Well, there's no set answer. That's the idea. We're supposed to be as clueless as Sora. Use your imagination, it could be anything at all. ^^

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	40. War

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

Disclaimer:_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~War~<strong>

Sora was sprawled comfortably across Kairi's bed, staring up at her whitewashed ceiling while she tapped away at her laptop from where she sat on the floor, humming something happy under her breath. He tipped his head to the side to watch her, a slight smile appearing on his face. Wisps of her auburn hair fell in front of her eyes which she was always quick to tuck it behind her ear, only to have it slip back in front of her face again a few minutes later.

He resisted the urge to reach out and brush the wisp of hair aside and instead rolled onto his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows. He tried to peer over her shoulder to see what she was writing, but she shifted away from him, shooting him a warning glance. He pouted and dropped his chin onto the mattress, murmuring quietly, "Say, Kairi? What's your report on anyway?"

"War." She replied simply, pausing for a moment to tuck that single piece of hair behind her ear again before resuming, her violet-blue eyes flickering from the screen to her keyboard and back up again.

Immediately, all playful thoughts vanished from his mind. Sora let loose a sigh and buried his face in his arms, thinking about how his own father was off fighting some war in some unknown land against some random people for some stupid reason which he didn't completely understand.

The clicking sound of the keyboard promptly halted again and the floorboards creaked as Kairi set aside her laptop and stood. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but kept his face crushed against her quilt which smelt so strongly of her. "Sora?" She asked timidly, her hand moving up to tousle his hair, "Are you alright?"

He pulled his head away from her hand and sat up, crossing his legs beneath him, all the while avoiding her gaze. "War is pointless. It ruins so many people's lives." He declared heatedly, "People either die for nothing, for their 'country' or for an absurd cause that they don't really believe in. It's a bloody version of politics, or at least that's what dad likes to call it." Sora smiled bitterly. "I think it's just another way to massacre thousands of people."

"I forgot..." Kairi murmured softly as she sat down on the mattress beside him, their knees brushing. "Your dad went to war." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Have you heard from him?"

"Yeah..." He nodded slowly, focusing his gaze on the now discarded laptop at the foot of the bed, his voice hollow, "He won't be back till after Christmas and even then there's a chance he'll be redeployed afterwards." He glanced over at Kairi suddenly, a weak smile reaching his lips. "Vanitas took it pretty hard."

"And what about you?" She asked kindly, tilting her head back to look at him, her eyes clearly filled with concern.

Sora swallowed thickly and instantly turned away from her. "I...I haven't given myself time to think about it." He breathed out noisily and closed his eyes, imagining his dad's grinning face behind his eyelids. He always seemed to cheerful, even when the situation was rough. And that's why Sora tried to stay cheerful. Not for himself, but for his family. As long as he kept smiling, they would be okay. He added suddenly, "I guess I don't want to."

Kairi sighed and laced her fingers with his. "You'll have to face it eventually, Sora." She whispered, keeping her voice soft. "It's not one of those problems that if you leave it alone for a while it'll magically fix itself." She squeezed his hand comfortingly. "You need to face up to whatever fears you have now. Just know you won't be alone. Other people are beside you, supporting you."

Sora kept his eyes shut, almost as if he opened them now, he'd be forced to face the harsh reality in that instant. He couldn't do it, not right now anyway. "You're right. I know you are. It's just hard." He admitted, his voice small. "I mean...at any moment now, my dad could be—"

A sudden loud scream filled the air.

Kairi and Sora jumped away from one another as her bedroom door flew open and Xion sprinted inside, her arms covering her chest. Following suit, was none other than Vanitas, wearing a leering grin as he darted after Xion.

The poor girl grabbed the nearest item she could find and shoved it into his face threateningly. It happened to be a hairbrush. "Stay back! I'm warning you!" She squeaked shrilly, one arm still covering her chest. "I swear to God, I will hurt you!"

Vanitas held his hand out in a placating gesture, his grin softening as he called jokingly, "Aw, c'mon Xion. I was only messing around." He wrenched the hairbrush out of her hands with a smirk, ignoring her screeching. "Stop being such a baby."

"You're so horrible!" She squealed, backing unceremoniously into Kairi's desk, her hand scrambling for another weapon to use against him as Vanitas advanced on her. "Just leave me alone!" She grabbed a can of hairspray and aimed it at his face. "No means no! I might be your girlfriend but that doesn't mean you get to boss me around!"

"Is that how you wanna pl— ow!" Vanitas howled, a hand flying up to his face. "Ow! That was my eye! Shit!" He stalked around in circles, still completely oblivious to the second couple sitting on the bed a mere few feet away. "Oh that's it girlie. This means war."

With a shriek, Xion fled the room with Vanitas hot on her heels, growling several not so polite words to himself.

Both Sora and Kairi looked over at each other, wearing matching expressions ranging between bewilderment and shock.

"What the hell was that about...?" Kairi mumbled.

"I don't think I want to know." Sora groaned as Xion's screams could be heard echoing throughout the entire house.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 1,001<em>  
><em>Date added; 1401/13_

Ah, I find that I'm quite fond of this one. I've finally managed to squeeze in some Sora/Kairi interaction as well as a quick cameo from Xion and Vanitas, who is obviously up to no good...

See you all soon!

**~AusisWinds-13**


	41. Relationship

**This 'Twin Sky challenge' belongs to Terra ForceXIII!**

**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own any of the characters from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy._

* * *

><p><strong>~Relationship~<strong>

It soon became apparent to all who met them that Sora and Vanitas were unlike any brothers they'd ever met.

When asked about them, Roxas and Ven would be quick to say that they were nothing like the two Fair twins; their own relationship as brothers was nowhere near as abusive or downright strange.

While normal brother's might engage in light-hearted banter or well-meaning shoves of affection, Sora and Vanitas pretty much waged an all-out war against each other on a day to day basis. Most of the physical abuse came from Vanitas' end, as well as the odd strongly worded insult, while Sora would whine and complain and generally smother his twin until he was forced to react.

On the odd occasion that they would both agree on something, they would almost immediately find some reason to start nagging at the other which usually ended with Vanitas kicking Sora's shins or tugging non too gently on his hair. Sora would take the abuse, only to extract his revenge at a later date and with much more subtlety than Vanitas could ever hope to master.

And then there was the lying. In this department, Vanitas was king. He could twist anything into a lie, cleverly placing the blame on Sora who was none the wiser until the punishment came around.

Whenever an incident occurred at home which was entirely his fault, Vanitas would conjure some farce to put his brother in the wrong and often watched with distinctive glee when his parents told his younger twin off for something he had no knowledge of.

Of course, there was also the off chance in which Sora would call Vanitas' bluff and he would end up in a heap of trouble for lying and putting his brother in such a position, which acted as a small victory for the brunette who was quite often subjected to his brother's torments.

Sora was excellent at eliciting sympathy from his parents and, in some cases, Xion, Vanitas' long term girlfriend. If he ever found himself in a position particularly taxing, he would always pull the sympathy card and Vanitas would end up getting a rather lengthy telling off from both his mother and Xion herself.

Despite their obvious differences and the apparent need to get the other into trouble, there were rare moments of peace where the two of them found they could happily coexist. They would curl up and watch romantic comedies together, most of the time at Vanitas' request. They would insult the main characters and call them out, throwing popcorn at the screen even though it made no difference. They would laugh and shout and sing completely off-key to cheesy songs when the credits rolled, content to be with each other.

Sometimes, during storms or when he had a nightmare, Sora would sneak into Vanitas' room and huddle beside his brother, thinking he wouldn't notice. Of course, Vanitas quite often did, but most of the time he just let Sora be, knowing he wouldn't leave him alone until he relented.

And then there were the times when they would stick up for each other. As he was bullied frequently as a child because of his gentle nature, it was up to Vanitas to protect his younger brother from the likes of Seifer and his unruly gang. An insult here, a jab there and everything would be sorted, although the older brother would never truly get away with his actions scot-free. Despite this, Vanitas would continue to stand up for Sora and Sora in return would do all he could to make sure his punishment passed by quickly.

Roxas and Ven never truly understood the mechanics of their strange, otherworldly relationship. There were times when they seemed as though they could stand each other's presence and times when the two of them were on the verge of tearing the other's throat out. In the end, the two blonde's realised that it all boiled down to the fact that no matter what, they would always be fiercely loyal to each other, no matter the situation.

Vanitas didn't hate Sora and Sora certainly didn't hate Vanitas. They just had…issues. Like right now, for instance.

"What is your problem?" Vanitas barked, roughly shoving Sora's shoulder once he caught up to him as they trudged home from school.

Roxas and Ven hung back, their eyes wide as they silently assessed the situation, knowing all too well that something was about to kick off.

"Nothing!" Sora replied, keeping his strides short and angry as he attempted to put more distance between himself and his older brother. "I don't have a problem!"

The two blonde's glanced over at each other and rolled their eyes.

The older brother growled lowly, easily keeping up with his twin, who seemed reluctant to meet his gaze. "You're so stupid, you know that?"

At this, the brunette wheeled on him, his expression indignant. "I guess it runs in the family." He grinned suddenly, "You're no Einstein yourself."

Unable to hide his own grin, Vanitas punched him lightly on the shoulder and laughed darkly. "No, I guess not. But I'm still smarter than you."

"Are not!"

Roxas and Ven sighed dramatically. Times like these, they simply didn't understand the Fair brothers.

* * *

><p><em>Word count; 876<em>  
><em>Date added; 2101/13_

So this was a bit of a shorter one. And it's also in a completely different style to the way I usually write things as I wanted to try writing something from a different point of view instead of focusing on either Vanitas or Sora. So, it's not one of my best, but it's there all the same. ^^

Until next time!

**~AusisWinds-13**


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